09 Sept 2026•Go / Python / TypeScript•Easy

Distance Between Bus Stops

Find the shorter travel distance between two stops on a circular route.

View original LeetCode question

Sum the clockwise segment between the ordered stops and compare it with the total route distance minus that segment.

complexity

O(n) time and O(1) space.

solution files

Go distance-between-bus-stops/solution.go
Python distance-between-bus-stops/solution.py
TypeScript distance-between-bus-stops/solution.ts

Solution files

Go•distance-between-bus-stops/solution.go

package main

func distanceBetweenBusStops(distance []int, start int, destination int) int {
	if start > destination {
		start, destination = destination, start
	}
	total, direct := 0, 0
	for stop, value := range distance {
		total += value
		if stop >= start && stop < destination {
			direct += value
		}
	}
	if direct < total-direct {
		return direct
	}
	return total - direct
}

Python•distance-between-bus-stops/solution.py

class Solution:
    def distanceBetweenBusStops(self, distance: list[int], start: int, destination: int) -> int:
        if start > destination: start, destination = destination, start
        direct = sum(distance[start:destination]); return min(direct, sum(distance) - direct)

TypeScript•distance-between-bus-stops/solution.ts

function distanceBetweenBusStops(distance: number[], start: number, destination: number): number {
  if (start > destination) [start, destination] = [destination, start];
  const total = distance.reduce((sum, value) => sum + value, class="syntax-number">0); let direct = class="syntax-number">0; for (let stop = start; stop < destination; stop += class="syntax-number">1) direct += distance[stop]; return Math.min(direct, total - direct);
}