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Bus and train shade answers
Plan where to sit before the sun finds your window
Choose a seat with less direct sunlight using your route and departure time.
Read shade answers
Bus and train shade answers
Plan where to sit before the sun finds your window
Choose a seat with less direct sunlight using your route and departure time.
The best side to sit on changes with the direction of travel and the sun. Start with your journey above, then use these answers to understand the recommendation and its limits before boarding.
What is ShadySide?
ShadySide is a shade-friendly travel planner that helps people choose the bus, train, or car side with less direct sunlight during a journey. Enter your start point, destination, and travel time, and ShadySide compares the route direction with the estimated sun position and weather context. The result is a practical recommendation for the side that is more likely to stay shaded, reduce glare, and feel cooler. It is useful for commuters, long-distance bus riders, train passengers, and anyone trying to avoid a hot window seat. Estimates use route geometry, journey timing, sun position, and weather data. Shade from trees, buildings, and flyovers, along with window tint, curtains, and seat layout, is not modeled. Check the visible conditions before choosing your seat.
How does ShadySide choose the shaded side?
ShadySide chooses the shaded side by comparing where the vehicle is travelling with where the sun should be during each part of the trip. A route moving east in the morning, west in the evening, or turning through several directions can expose different windows at different times. ShadySide uses the journey time, route shape, estimated sun position, and weather context to decide which side has the lower expected sunlight exposure overall. The recommendation works best when the departure time and route are accurate. Recalculate if your boarding time changes, you choose a different route, or the vehicle takes a detour.
Where should I sit on a bus to avoid sunlight?
To avoid sunlight on a bus, choose the side ShadySide marks as having less direct sun for your route and departure time. There is no single permanent shade side for every bus, because the answer changes with direction, time of day, season, and turns along the route. Open ShadySide before boarding, enter the exact start and destination, select bus mode, and compare the recommendation with what you see outside. If the bus changes direction often, the recommendation reflects the overall journey rather than one single road segment. If both sides look exposed, prefer a non-window seat or a seat away from large untinted windows.
Read the bus shade guideWhere should I sit on a train to avoid sunlight?
To avoid sunlight on a train, check the direction of travel and departure time before choosing your seat. ShadySide estimates which side of the route should face away from stronger direct sun, then recommends the side more likely to stay shaded. Train shade can be easier to predict than bus shade on long straight sections, but it can still change when the track curves, the train reverses direction, or the route passes through stations, cuttings, bridges, and tall buildings. If your ticket has fixed seating, check the recommendation before selecting a coach or window side. For glare-sensitive trips, a seat away from the window can still be the safer choice.
Read the train shade guideTravelling by car? Read the car passenger shade guide for driving routes and window glare, or see our methodology and accuracy limits.