Short turn

In public transport, a short turn or turn-back is an earlier terminus on a bus or rail line that is used on some scheduled trips that do not operate along the full length of the route. Some agencies, such as the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority use the term "cut route" for the same thing.

Short turns are practical in scheduling when the short-turning bus can proceed through its layover at the short turn loop, then start a run in the opposite direction, all while reducing the number of buses needed to operate all trips along the route as opposed to if all scheduled trips operated to the terminus of full-length trips.

Short turns require the availability of a separate loop on the bus or rail line where the vehicle can turn around and lay over. On bus routes, this could be streets that can accommodate bus traffic. On a rail line, this means a location where the layover does not interfere with other rail traffic.

On rail lines, short turns are more limited due to the number of crossovers between tracks.