The RTA needs to build a five-year strategic bus stop shelter implementation policy. Right now, there is little apparent direction for how the RTA will hit important goals in the Strategic Mobility Plan (SMP) like ensuring 90 percent of bus stops with 15 or more daily boards have a shelter in the next six years. The RTA can take a lot of the guessing game and frustration out of this by prioritizing a plan that has:
- A clear numerical shelter goal for each year, with both a bottom-line number that could be paid for with local funds and a higher number of shelters that could be installed if outside funding is found
- An updated matrix on how bus stops without shelters currently will be prioritized for shelter placement over the next five years, and a clear metric for shelter placement, whether that’s the Strategic Mobility Plan’s goal of every stop with 15 or more daily boardings or something different.
- An inclusive planning process that gives riders a chance to weigh in at several important points while this plan is being developed
- A clear accounting of the barriers that the RTA’s shelter program still faces – including coordination issues with the City and specifics on deficient infrastructure at stop locations that would make it impossible to install a shelter without enhancements.
We are pleased to report that the RTA board has been responsive to this process. But riders also need to see and be a part of this plan. Riders shouldn’t have to sign a petition each year to get new bus stop shelters for the next year, or wait for federal grant money that may or may not be available for shelters.
We need the RTA to prioritize a long-term plan for bus stop shelter installation that lists these clear goals. Riders deserve to take transit with dignity and comfort!