Building better bus stops

Editorial Fellow | Austin Wu

A few weeks ago I received what is a high-water mark in my short writing career so far: a very kind letter from a reader. For reasons of privacy I will refrain from copying the full letter here, but on the whole the reader has found that after some initial discomfort with riding the bus, that they now find it financially better to take transit compared to driving and that they can use time on transit to relax. The reader also relayed some concerns about the current state of the system, especially in regards to the lack of benches, shelters, access to restrooms, and handicap accessibility at many stops.

I appreciate the concerns about shortcomings in the transit system detailed in the letter, and indeed, many of the items listed have been topics of national and international concern in recent years. I filed a complaint to the City about all of these matters using the MyCR portal, and at time of writing, have received confirmation that the message has been viewed by the City. In the interim, I will try to provide some comments and responses to the extent possible.

Design of transit stops

In the letter, the reader specifically outlines a lack of benches and poor shelter conditions as items for improvement at bus stops, but I would like to extend this to include all aspects of the bus stop more generally, including the sign that marks where the stop is in the first place.

The City’s master bus schedule contains a picture of what bus stops currently look like in Cedar Rapids. To put it sympathetically, it looks … simple. There’s the Five Seasons tree, a picture of a bus, the name of a route, a web link and phone number for a bus tracker, and not much else. If you do not have a mobile phone, your battery is dead, or it is too cold outside to take your gloves out, it would be virtually impossible to figure out information like your location, the path of the route, or when the next bus is coming going off of the sign alone. With each inconvenience that adds up, for people with other options this only presents more reasons to drive over riding the bus.

Sparse bus signs are a problem limited not only to Cedar Rapids, and have been identified as an inconvenient burden foisted upon bus riders by Uytae Lee, a columnist and filmmaker based in Vancouver, Canada. Noting the shortcomings of many bus stop signs, especially compared to the comprehensive network maps placed at rail stations, he created new sign concepts in Vancouver and Halifax which also outline where each route actually goes to from that particular stop.

In regards to the other components of bus stops, like shelters and benches, inspiration can be found a little closer to home, in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. For all of its faults, the local transit agency, Metro Transit, provides amenities at some bus stops that could be worth emulating. Where shelters do exist, many of them have schedules posted on the walls, lighting at night, and on-demand heaters, activated by a push button when temperatures reach below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Along bus rapid transit lines, which promise streamlined, speedier bus service comparable to a train, stations are even more extensive, containing bicycle parking, garbage and recycling, live schedules, and specially marked platform areas in addition to the features mentioned earlier.

Provision of restrooms

A lack of public restrooms is a matter of concern for bus operators and passengers alike. In a recent report titled Bus Operators in Crisis by research and advocacy group TransitCenter, a lack of public restrooms accessible to bus operators en route is repeatedly cited as a health hazard and detractor from morale, with the report noting that “a survey conducted by the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) found that nearly 80% of surveyed operators did not have enough time built into their schedules for bathroom use,” and that “67% of respondents had developed a health problem or had a preexisting condition grow worse because of lack of bathroom access.”

Writing this column at home and working at an office most days for my day job, I am fortunate to not even have to particularly think much about my ability to access a restroom. Perks like this in different lines of work may be contributing to the current historic shortage of bus operators nationwide, which has already resulted in reduced service and threatens to launch transit systems across the country into ‘death spirals’. This happens when poor and unreliable service leads people to stop using transit in favor of driving, which reduces revenue from fares, which then reduces the transit system’s ability to fund its operations, resulting in service reductions and reduced operations, which spurs more people to quit using transit, further reducing revenue from fares …

Bus Operators in Crisis outlines a couple of potential solutions. Routes could be designed to pass by places which have public restrooms, perhaps like a library or city hall. In the Twin Cities, provisions for “adequate restroom access along routes” in the bus operators’ union contract has led Metro Transit to work with local businesses and organizations to allow operator access to private restrooms in exchange for compensation. Additional facilities in addition to the Ground Transportation Center in downtown Cedar Rapids could fulfill a dual purpose of a place for rest for bus operators, as well as a more pleasant place to wait for passengers.

From the perspective of passengers, the low frequency of many buses in Cedar Rapids — as infrequent as once per hour on some routes — immediately suggests that people might end up having certain needs to attend to while waiting for the bus. Perhaps if buses were run more frequently — the gold standard would be six to seven minutes between buses on a route — this would not be as pressing of an issue, but so long as buses remain this sparse in Cedar Rapids, the City should be paying attention to accessibility concerns like the lack of public restrooms. In short, access to public restrooms across the bus network, not just at the downtown Ground Transportation Center, is an important matter of accessibility, workers’ rights and welfare, as well as an important component in ensuring that service frequency is not cut due to operator shortages.

In conclusion

To the person who sent over the letter — thank you for writing. It is much appreciated, and your perspectives on the issues have identified salient issues with how public transit is treated and operated in the United States. Inadequate facilities for transit passengers are especially notable this time of year, now that we are in the depths of winter, and that for much of the day, that wait for the bus will be in the dark and the cold.

But like the reader mentioned in their first paragraph, we should also take some time to celebrate the advantages of public transit. Compared to driving, it is much more affordable to use public transit, both collectively in the subsidization of driving and maintenance of car infrastructure, and individually on vehicles, gasoline, insurance, and upkeep. On the bus, one does not have to worry as much about traffic, the condition of the road, or if one is too tired or emotional to drive safely, and indeed, can use their time traveling to instead rest and recuperate. A strong public transit system which is practical and accessible to all is an integral component to building clean, equitable, healthy, and prosperous places to live — if more people thought like this reader, our city, climate, and transportation system would likely be in better shape.

Austin Wu is a Gazette editorial fellow. editorial@thegazette.com

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