The City of Los Angeles is currently developing a new bus shelter and street furniture contract as its existing agreement nears expiration.
While much of the discussion has focused on contract details, digital advertising, and street furniture design, we believe a more fundamental question deserves attention:
Why does Los Angeles continue to rely on advertising revenue to provide basic amenities for bus riders?
For the past 20 years, the City’s bus shelter program has largely been tied to a business model in which shelters are funded through advertising. Yet this approach has consistently fallen short. Despite promises of expanded shelter coverage, Los Angeles still has hundreds of bus stops without shade, seating, or protection from the elements.
As the City considers a new contract, Investing in Place joined Los Angeles Walks, People for Mobility Justice, ACT-LA, and the Natural Resources Defense Council in urging policymakers to focus on community needs rather than revenue generation.
We recommended that the City:
- Prioritize the needs of people walking, rolling, and riding transit.
- Install shelters where riders need them most.
- Reduce reliance on advertising revenue.
- Reinvest any revenues generated into communities most impacted by unsafe public spaces.
- Set ambitious targets for bus shelter installation and maintenance.
Bus shelters are not simply street furniture.
They are part of the transportation system.
As Los Angeles experiences hotter temperatures and more extreme weather, shade and seating become increasingly important public amenities, particularly for older adults, people with disabilities, and transit riders who may spend significant time waiting for a bus.
The current Sidewalk and Transit Amenities Program continues to assume that advertising revenue will fund much of this work. Yet the previous contract generated relatively little revenue while leaving many communities without adequate shelter coverage.
This raises an important question: if Los Angeles can fund streets, freeways, rail projects, and other transportation investments, why are bus shelters still treated primarily as advertising opportunities rather than essential transportation infrastructure?
A world-class transit system requires more than buses. It requires safe, comfortable, and accessible places to wait.
As the City moves forward with a new contract, we hope policymakers focus not only on revenue potential, but on how bus shelters, public toilets, shade, and other amenities can better serve the people who rely on them every day.
