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Metro Transit details Better Bus Stops program; staff say 86% of boardings occur at accessible stops or stops with shelters
Summary
Metro Transit staff reported updated systemwide accessibility data and program goals: roughly 86% of boardings occur at stops classified as accessible or served by shelters, 3,300 stops are currently inaccessible, and the agency lowered the shelter-eligibility threshold from 30 to 20 daily boardings while raising its annual shelter-addition goal to 30.
Metro Transit representatives presented April 22 to the Metropolitan Council an update on the Better Bus Stops program, detailing data-driven prioritization of boarding pads, shelters, lighting and heat to improve accessibility and rider experience across roughly 8,000 regular bus stops.
Jenny Ackerson, who leads planning for the program, told the Council that expanded data collection since 2023 enabled a systemwide snapshot: "When we take into account the bus stops we collected data for that are accessible and bus stops that are with shelters, we now know that 86% of bus stop activities take place at accessible [stops]," she said, calling it a new benchmark for tracking progress. Ackerson described three buckets for stops: accessible, constrained (nearly accessible), and inaccessible; she said there are about 3,300 inaccessible stops and roughly 1,000 constrained stops, and that nearly 500 stops still require data collection.
Paul Lamb outlined 2025 capital work: Metro Transit constructed 152 new boarding pads, installed 32 new shelters, replaced 24 older shelters and added light or heat at 41 shelters (new or existing). Staff said much of the boarding-pad work (about 59% of the pads cited) was completed in coordination with other roadway projects, which both reduces cost and limits disruption to streets and neighbors.
Ackerson said Metro Transit updated its bus stop improvement guidelines in 2025, lowering the shelter threshold from 30 to 20 daily boardings, which immediately expanded the number of eligible sites by roughly 220 stops. The agency also increased its annual goal for new shelters from 20 to 30 per year and prioritized shelters at transfer points, locations with equity considerations and community destinations.
Council members asked technical and operational questions: whether charts measured "activities" (boardings and alightings) rather than counts of stops (staff confirmed that is the case); whether lights are installed before heaters (staff said lights are typically easier and heaters require higher-power connections and higher boarding thresholds, roughly 70'75 boardings/day for heater prioritization); whether bench vendors and legacy stop signs would be addressed (staff said they coordinate with vendors and will inventory obsolete signage for removal); and how citizens can report stop issues (staff pointed to the Metro Transit website comment form and noted Transit app data is shared with planning teams).
Staff said they will present the accessibility results to the Transit Accessibility Advisory Committee in May and that a call for projects related to solicitations will run May 7'June 25. The presentation and Q&A concluded with council members praising the data and the program's focus on equitable access.
Provenance: topicintro SEG 575; topfinish SEG 891.
