Houston Metro advances shelter installations

Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (Houston Metro) has begun installments of hundreds of newly designed bus shelters across the region.

The shelters are an update to the long-standing bus shelter design and feature a silver-colored, more durable structure with steel framing and solar powered lighting to enhance the customer experience.

"From new shelters to accessibility upgrades, we at Houston Metro are committed to making the necessary improvements for the region to ensure that every customer has a safe and reliable commute," said Houston Metro Board Chair Sanjay Ramabhadran.

Houston Metro’s facilities maintenance department will install 30 shelters each month, 400 per year, with a goal of 2,000 within the next five years.

Shelter installation priorities will depend on the following factors:

• Number of daily boardings at a stop
• Access to a significant senior population
• Access to a community with a high concentration of people living with a disability
• Serves a significant activity center, such as hospitals, retail or grocery stores
• Connects with other bus routes or Metrorail

The first installations will focus on stops without shelters and then move on to replacing older shelters later in the process.