LA Begins Adding New Bus Shelters

Los Angeles officials celebrated the city’s Sidewalk and Transit Amenities Program (STAP) aimed at providing shade and seating at more of the city’s bus stops at a ribbon cutting for a new bus shelter in Tarzana on June 27, just as another major heat wave is set to sweep across Southern California, with temperatures expected to be well over 100 in many parts of the region.

As Linh Tat explains in the Los Angeles Daily News,  the program is run by the Bureau of Street Services (StreetsLA) and plans to install 3,000 new bus shelters and 450 shade structures. “Its goal is to ensure that 75% of bus riders in each of L.A.’s 15 City Council districts are boarding buses from stops that have shelters.” In 2022, just a quarter of L.A. bus stops had any shade or shelter.

The new shelters include larger shade canopies, lighting, accessible seating configurations, and digital displays. “Priority for the new shelters are based on factors like the number of riders who use the stop; the area’s exposure to heat; locations that tend to serve minority or low-income populations or households without access to cars; key destinations or stops with long wait times,” Tat adds.