Webinar: Bus Stops: Access and Equity

Improving bus stops by providing shelters, seating, signage, and sidewalks is relatively inexpensive and popular among riders and local officials. Making such improvements, however, is not often a priority for U.S. transit providers because of competing demands for capital funds and a perception that amenities are not tied to measurable increases in system effectiveness or efficiency. This webinar focuses on the role that bus stops play as the point of first contact between transit agencies and their potential riders, and how the quality of that contact can influence both ridership and accessibility for riders with mobility-related disabilities. The webinar will use results from recent research sponsored by NITC and the Utah Department of Transportation looking at possible impacts that bus stop improvements made by the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) have had on stop-level ridership and demand for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) paratransit services. The results demonstrate how investments in bus stop facilities are not amenities, as they are frequently referred to, but essential elements of infrastructure necessary to provide access to transit and, by extension, to opportunities and essential services. Stops are, through this frame, conceptualized as an element of transportation justice.https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/trec_webinar/1053/thumbnail.jp