Funding OKd for Rapid-Bus Shelters

A new rapid-bus service will soon debut along with distinctive, prefabricated shelters on Ventura, Wilshire and Whittier boulevards.

The 89 shelters will cost the Metropolitan Transportation Authority nearly $3.7 million. On Tuesday, the Los Angeles City Council approved fronting about two-thirds of the cost for which it will be reimbursed by the MTA.

To coincide with the start of the rapid-bus service and several new Red Line subway stops in the Valley this weekend, the first shelter will be installed by Friday at the Universal City station.

The MTA’s rapid-bus concept is designed by planners to entice commuters out of their cars and into a bus that can keep traffic signals green long enough for it to pass through congested intersections. The system uses transponders on the bus that communicate ahead with traffic signals--in essence, avoiding most red lights.

To help distinguish the new shelters from other MTA bus stops, they will have red and white signs--to match the colors of the new buses--and a translucent canopy spanning two gray poles.

A unique feature of the shelters is a real-time display that tells passengers when the next bus is arriving, said Rex Gephart, MTA rapid-bus project manager.

All but five of the 89 shelters will be about 13 feet long. At the busier stops, including Universal City, Broadway/5th Street and Broadway/6th Street, the shelters are double the size, about 30 feet long, to accommodate more commuters.

Along the Ventura Boulevard 16-mile rapid-bus route that travels from Universal City west to the Warner Center transit center, 27 shelters will be established. On the Wilshire/Whittier boulevard line, 62 shelters are planned for the 26-mile route, which travels through Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and county areas.

MTA officials, working with the city’s Department of Transportation, think the signal-beating technology can shave up to 25% off travel time.

The city has an exclusive contract with Outdoor Advertising Systems for all transit shelters, and the new rapid-bus shelters will also be completed by the firm, said Greg Scott, director of the city’s Bureau of Street Services.

As currently planned, the shelters will not have commercial advertising, Scott said. Standard MTA bus shelters do feature such retail ads. During its grand opening week, Saturday through June 30, the rapid-bus line will be free for passengers.