Study finds likelihood of having a shelter is low regardless of location
A UCLA report released this week reveals alarming news for Los Angeles residents who rely on public transportation: only 26% of Metro bus stops have shelters that provide shade.
This is significant as extreme heat already kills more people than any other natural disaster in the U.S., and research has demonstrated that bus shelters are a proven way to help mitigate the impact of extreme heat. And a 2020 study by the Los Angeles Urban Cooling Collaborative found that as Los Angeles gets hotter, Black, Latino and older adults will experience the largest increases in mortality due to increases in extreme heat.
The new study from UCLA’s Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies and MoveLA provides a baseline understanding of shelter availability for those who use Los Angeles public transit, particularly with legislation on the topic now being considered in the California State Assembly. More than 60 transit agencies provide service to the region, but Metro is the largest and was the focus of the new study. Metro is the largest transit agency in Los Angeles County, and its bus system is the second largest in the nation, providing bus service for more than 560,000 daily riders.
With over 12,000 bus stops in L.A., 10,526 of which have available data, only 2,743 currently have shelters installed. The likelihood of having a shelter is low regardless of location – cool coastal climates or blazing hot San Fernando Valley – with most bus stops located in hotter areas where temperatures can reach 97 degrees during summer months.
Responsibility for building and maintaining these shelters largely lies with individual cities and counties within California; vast disparities can be seen between areas like Bell, where 89% of bus stops have shelters and Beverly Hills, Downey and Bellflower where less than 10% are covered.
