History:
– Way stations historically provided facilities for resting or changing horses for stagecoaches.
– Passengers could have a simple meal and use restrooms at these stations.
– Basic overnight accommodations were occasionally available in remote locations.
Mass transit:
– Layovers in mass transit allow for recovery time in schedules.
– Reasons for layovers include recovering from delays and providing breaks for drivers.
– Layovers can be scheduled at timing points during trips for loading/unloading passengers.
– They prevent arriving at a timing point ahead of schedule.
Long-distance rail and bus:
– In long-distance travel, layovers are breaks between vehicles in multi-vehicle trips.
– Layovers may provide a break for the operator or crew change.
– Layovers can occur after finishing a route and waiting for the next vehicle.
– Many inter-city and international trips include layovers.
Air:
– In air travel, layovers or connections are short breaks between flights.
– Stopovers are longer breaks in flight itineraries.
– Maximum layover times vary depending on the itinerary.
– Layovers are generally cheaper than stopovers in air travel.
See also:
– Look up “layover” and “stopover” in Wiktionary for more information.
– Bus terminus and transport hub are related to layovers.
– Stage stations are historical predecessors to modern layover points.
References:
– Sacramento Regional Transit provides a transit glossary on layovers.
– About.com discusses common scheduling problems related to layovers.
– Nicholas Kralev’s book “Decoding Air Travel” mentions layovers.
– International Air Transport Association offers a glossary of passenger terms.
– Airline Tariff Publishing Company provides a glossary of connection and stopover terms.
In scheduled transportation, a layover (also waypoint, way station, or connection) is a point where a vehicle stops, with passengers possibly changing vehicles. In public transit, this typically takes a few minutes at a trip terminal. For air travel, where layovers are longer, passengers will exit the vehicle and wait in the terminal, often to board another vehicle traveling elsewhere.
A stopover is a longer form of layover, allowing time to leave the transport system for sightseeing or overnight accommodation.