Pittsburgh Should Invest in More Bus Shelters

I recently took the bus from downtown to the airport to make a flight.  None of the stops for the 28X bus that goes to the airport have shelters downtown.  I decided to wait in a coffee shop and use the true time app to get to the stop at the same time as the bus.  I realized the app wasn’t working when I saw a 28X bus drive by the coffee shop window.  I had left enough time that I would still make my flight, but I couldn’t miss the next bus so I waited the whole half hour at the stop without a shelter. 

The Pittsburgh Gazette recently published an article on the Port Authority’s efforts to improve bus shelters.  The article identified that the Authority has less ability to improve shelters within the city limits of Pittsburgh because they are a City responsibility.  The City sub-contracts control and maintenance of the bus shelters to Gateway Advertising. 

Improved bus shelters should be a priority in Pittsburgh.  This article by transit analyst Alon Levy concludes that adding bus shelters is one of the most cost effective ways to improve the mode share of public transportation, mainly because they are so inexpensive compared with other transit infrastructure.  

Alon Levy recommends bus shelters at any stop that has more than 2.5 weekday boardings.  The basis for the recommendation is that for stops with that level of demand, providing a bus shelter is a more cost effective way to add riders than other typical transit projects.  For comparison, the Port Authority has published guidance on bus shelters which states that bus shelters are recommended at stops that have at least 30 boardings, but many stops with more than 30 boardings do not have a shelter. .

A non-comprehensive list of stops with high boardings and no shelter is given in Table 1.  The Table is based on this bus map bus map published by the Port Authority that documents the number of boardings and alightings at each stop

Table 1

Location	Stop ID	Weekday Boardings
E Carson St at S 22nd St	2555	186
5th Ave at Meyran Ave	2564	698
Forbes Ave at Wightman	7097	442
Forbes Ave btn Dennison St and Shady Ave	7095	131
5th Ave at Bellefont St	3144	274
5th Ave at Wood St	20690	2,281
5th Ave at Liberty Ave	11186	655
Liberty Ave at Tito Way	15266	886

Returning to my opening story, the 28X stops downtown serve other routes and are heavily used.   For example, stop ID 11186 at 5th and Liberty has 655 average weekday boardings. Stop ID 15266 at Liberty and Tito Way has 886 daily boardings. There is also plenty of sidewalk space in these locations for a bus stop.  Building a shelter here and in similar locations should be a priority.

Only 8% of Allegheny County bus stops have shelters. While these are placed at high demand stops such that 34% of trips start at a shelter, this still leaves a majority of transit riders standing in the rain on days with poor weather.  Pittsburgh can and should do better.

Therefore Pittsburgh should prioritize increasing the number of stops with bus shelters and contribute City funds to do so.  

The city should focus on adding shelters to stops that have the most boardings and alightings.  Bus stops with infrequent service benefit more from a shelter since riders have to wait longer on average for a bus.  Bus stops that are commonly used for transfers should also be prioritized.

Pittsburgh should set a specific target of bus shelters to build per year and continue building until a majority of boardings occur at stops with a shelter.