LA launches new, shadier bus shelters as another heatwave approaches

Southern California is no stranger to hot temperatures, and with another major heatwave this week, any cooling relief is welcome news for Angelenos forced to stand in the sweltering heat while waiting for public transit.

That’s why Los Angeles city officials cheered on the recent launch of the city’s new Sidewalk and Transit Amenities Program (STAP), an initiative to make taking the bus safer and more comfortable by installing new bus shelters and shade structures which, among other benefits, provide more shade for people waiting at bus stops.

The city’s Bureau of Street Services, also known as StreetsLA, is in charge of the STAP program, which calls for the installation of 3,000 new bus shelters and 450 shade structures citywide. 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.

The new bus shelters feature larger canopy sizes to provide more shade; increased lighting; seating configurations and heights to accommodate different needs and wheelchair access; and digital displays with real-time bus arrival information.

On Thursday, June 27, to celebrate, city officials gathered in Tarzana where a new bus shelter was installed as part of Metro’s North San Fernando Valley Transit Corridor Project. The Metro project includes $53 million to pay for nearly 400 STAP shelters in the San Fernando Valley.

In addition to the $53 million from Metro, the city has allocated tens of millions of dollars more to fund the STAP project.

“Our world is getting warmer, and extreme heat is now the leading cause of climate-related deaths in the United States,” City Council President Paul Krekorian, who also serves on the Metro board, said in a statement. “Summer temperatures are breaking records right here in the Valley. With STAP, we can ensure that 75% of city bus riders will have shelter from the sun, the wind and the rain.”

City officials and staff have spent years implementing STAP. The city’s street services bureau said last week it expects to have a dozen shelters installed by the end of June, including in the Valley, Hollywood and Koreatown.

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.

Efforts to lower the region’s temperature has long been a goal of elected officials in L.A.

Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who represents Tarzana, said it’s been years since new bus shelters were installed and hailed the moment as a “big step” for the city.

“It’s not uncommon for transit riders in my district, and across the city, to experience unbearable triple-digit temperatures while waiting for the bus,” he said. “Providing shade is not a luxury – it is a necessity.”