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Community Stop Facilities Dataset
In Spring 2024, Ride New Orleans collaborated with the Committee for a Better New Orleans (CBNO), students and researchers at the UNO Transportation Institute (UNOTI), RTA planning staff, and a group of volunteers and supporters to develop a community dataset of RTA stop facilities. Download the full dataset and view metrics below.
Help RIDE keep this info up to date! We plan to update this dataset at least quarterly to reflect service changes and new infrastructure. Report changes and submit photos through our update form HERE.
This project was made possible through support from the Greater New Orleans Foundation for the Next 100 Years Challenge in partnership with Committee for a Better New Orleans.
Learn more about our work with CBNO to improve rider facilities at stops across New Orleans at cbno.org/better-bus-stops
In 2023, RIDE partnered with the Committee for Better New Orleans (CBNO) on the Better Bus Stops project to improve facilities for riders at transit stops in Orleans Parish. RIDE’s task on this project to conduct a needs assessment by inventorying and surveying riders to gather information to support the project’s planning.
A major challenge we faced when starting this project was the lack of available, up-to-date data on existing shelters and seating at bus and streetcar stops. The RTA had not completed a inventory of transit facilities since 2015, and there was no comprehensive data available on how (and where) transit facilities had chanced since then. Furthermore, RIDE was aware that many stop locations were affected when New Links bus network redesign was implemented in September 2022, which removed, added, and changed the location of many bus stops. Because the RTA implemented those changes without a clear plan for addressing stop infrastructure (including signage), the majority of new stops lacked wayfinding, shelters, and other amenities. Conversely, many of the old stops which were taken out of service in 2022 still had stop amenities in place as of early 2024.
According to the RTA’s transit service standards, any stop with 15 or more daily boarding is eligible for bench or shelter, and in 2023, the RTA committed to installing facilities at 100% of these stops. (Strategic Mobility Plan 2023 Update – Metrics and Targets). To ensure transparency and track progress towards this target, we needed baseline data for what exists in the first place.
To address this, RIDE collaborated with CBNO, the RTA planning staff, the UNO Transportation Institute, and a group of transit riders and volunteers to develop a community inventory of stops, shelters, and benches at every active and inactive RTA stop. This dataset has resulted in important findings that will be discussed in an upcoming report. RIDE is making this data available to riders, advocates and community members to provide information and context for the presence and type of stop facilities in Greater New Orleans.
Our goal is to regularly update this dataset using street imagery, information from the RTA, and information from the public. You can help us keep this data current by filling out the update form!
Orleans Parish stop facilities dashboard [under construction]
Active transit stops by mode
The stops dataset includes information for all active and inactive RTA bus and streetcar stops that have had service since 2019. Data on stops with active service comes from the RTA GTFS feed for the current service period.
The map tooltip displays information for the fields below. Refer to the data dictionary for full field descriptions and values.
- IN_SERVICE – tracks which stops have service in the current GTFS schedule.
- IN_SERVICE_DATE – shows the effective date for the RTA GTFS data.
- TYPE – indicates whether a stop is bus or streetcar stops.
Shelters at transit stops
The stops dataset includes information for the type and presence of shelter facilities at all RTA stops. In developing this database, RIDE defined "shelter" as a facility that provides overhead protection from the elements to riders at a bus or streetcar stop. This includes movable shelters, permanent/fixed stations, and other public and private infrastructure (such as bridges, balconies, and awnings) which provides full overhead coverage at a transit stop.
According to the RTA's current transit service standards, the threshold for installing rider facilities at stops (including shelters and benches) is 15 daily boardings.
The map tooltip displays information for the fields below. Refer to the data dictionary for full field descriptions and values.
- HAS_SHELTER - indicates whether a shelter is present at a stop (including both RTA and non-RTA facilities).
- HAS_RTA SHELTER - indicates whether an RTA-installed shelter is present at a stop.
- SHELTER_COUNT - number of shelters located at stop.
- SHELTER_TYPE - type of shelter(s) located at stop. Refer to data dictionary for full list of values.
- SHELTER_SUBTYPE - subtype of shelter(s) located at stop. Refer to data dictionary for full list of values.
- SHELTER_SIZE - size of shelter(s) located at stop. Currently only tracked for standard RTA-installed shelters, excluding permanent facilities.
Seating at transit stops
The stops dataset includes information for the type and presence of benches and seating all RTA stops.
According to the RTA's current transit service standards, the threshold for installing rider facilities at stops (including shelters and seating) is 15 daily boardings.
The map tooltip displays information for the fields below. Refer to the data dictionary for full field descriptions and values.
- HAS_BENCH - indicates whether seating is present at a stop (including both RTA and non-RTA facilities).
- HAS_RTA BENCH - indicates whether an RTA-installed bench or seating is present at a stop.
- BENCH_COUNT - number of benches located at stop.
- BENCH_TYPE - type of bench(es) located at stop. Refer to data dictionary for full list of values.
- BENCH_SIZE - size of bench(es) located at stop. Currently only tracked for standard RTA-installed benches.
Sidewalks at transit stops
The stops dataset includes information for the presence of sidewalks at transit facilities. The RTA and City of New Orleans are bound by ADA consent decree to make all transit stops ADA accessible by 2031.
This inventory did not include a detailed engineering survey of the pedestrian facilities and does not provide information on whether facilities are ADA compliant - only whether they were present in general.
The map tooltip displays information for the SIDEWALK_PRESENT field. Stops were categorized has having:
- Complete sidewalks (field value YES) - Generally complete facilities present without significant visible damage.
- Partial sidewalks (field value PART) - Facilities which were either clearly incomplete or had significant visible damage.
- No sidewalks (field value NO) - Facilities were not visibly present in the vicinity of the transit stop.