Outdoor chairs are being left at bus stops along Research-Warrandyte Rd

Catching the bus on a road in Melbourne’s northeast has become an unusually heart-warming experience, with someone leaving chairs, teddies and cushions at bus stops. But who’s doing it?

Outdoor chairs flanking Research-Warrandtye Rd bus stops are becoming a familiar, welcome sight.

Outdoor chairs and teddies are turning bare bus stops into heart-warming nooks along a busy route in Melbourne’s north east.

Neighbours in the area have been left scratching their heads about who’s behind it, questioning whether they represent thoughtful gestures or some sort of practical joke.

But whatever the reason, the chairs serve a purpose for relieved commuters along Research-Warrandyte Rd as the majority of the route’s bus stops don’t have seats.

And a shelter was even found graced with pillows and a teddy bear, meaning commuters didn’t have to plonk their behinds onto a cold and hard metal bench.

Cushions and a teddy warm up this cheerless shelter.

When Susan McCormack was driving along the road last month she first noticed two plastic outdoor chairs at one of the route’s bus stops.

“They weren’t the normal chairs built for people waiting for the bus,” the Research woman said.

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“I just thought maybe they were for an elderly couple who would frequently catch the bus from that stop — or maybe it was for someone who had one leg.”

But as Ms McCormack drove further she discovered more outdoor chairs positioned at almost every bus stop — right up until the end of the road.

“Then I thought it definitely must be some sort of chain reaction,” she said.

“One person has seen what someone else has done at one bus stop and continued it all the way down the road.”

Two backyard chairs grace a basic bus stop.

Ms McCormack said she had never seen the chairs on the popular route before, or anywhere else in Melbourne.

“I go out that road a lot and have never seen them before and I do a lot of car travel around Melbourne and never seen anything quite like this,” she said.

The Leader visited Research-Warrandyte Rd on Tuesday and discovered chairs at eight of the road’s bus stops, as well as the shelter cosied up with a teddy and cushions.

While the mystery remains unsolved Ms McCormack hoped the items would stay.

She said it brought a quirky feel to the urban fringe communities of Research and Warrandyte.

“It’s good to have people with that sort of sense of humour in a world where there is so much tragedy,” she said.

“I like it, it’s much better than seeing rubbish or vandalism and hope they stay here.”

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