Metro Transit staff on March 12 told the Metropolitan Council that the agency has lowered the threshold for adding a bus shelter at a regular (non-BRT/LRT) stop from 30 daily boardings to 20 and outlined 2024 accomplishments including paved boarding pads, new shelters and faster maintenance response times.

The change to the Better Bus Stops guidelines was presented by Barry Farrington, program manager for Better Bus Stops, and project manager Paul Lam. Farrington said the lower threshold expands the pool of stops eligible for shelters and that final prioritization will use equity indicators, transfer activity and nearby community destinations. "We adjusted that threshold to 20 or more daily boardings," Farrington said.

The update follows 2024 work Metro Transit said included paved boarding pads at 81 stops, installation or replacement of shelters, deployment of solar lighting at 40 shelters and the addition of digital advertising panels to 30 shelters that also aid reporting of maintenance needs. Lam said roughly half of Metro Transit riders board at local stops and that the system now has about 9,000 stops, about 800 shelters, 330 with light and 140 with heaters. "On average those issues were addressed within under 3 days, 2.7 on average," Lam said of maintenance requests.

Council members asked how Metro Transit will address misuse of heated or sheltered stops. Council Member Carter asked whether heated shelters could become "a magnet" for unsheltered people and what the agency would do. Farrington and Lam said responses include urban-design changes (for example switching patterned glass to clear glass), more frequent staff visits, temporary removal of benches or shelters when needed, and partnerships with police and social-service providers. "Sometimes partners can go visit," Lam said. "As a strategy, we have temporarily removed benches. We've temporarily removed shelters, to disrupt patterns of behavior."

Several council members pressed for clearer coordination with cities and other agencies. Council Member Seederberg questioned why new shelters do not automatically include lighting; staff answered that adding power can require additional design and coordination with roadway owners and utilities. Council Member Chambliss asked how the agency defines transfer points used in prioritization; staff said transfer points are locations identified in transit information where riders change routes and that heat is prioritized at transfer points with 70 or more daily boardings.

The presentation also referenced a public comment earlier in the meeting in which speaker Tom Majin said signs announcing a detour of Nicollet Avenue service to Hennepin Avenue had appeared and that the decision had been made months earlier. Chair Charlie Zelle and the regional administrator said the council would follow up to clarify the detour process. "This is a temporary closure for what we believe to be the parade," the regional administrator said when summarizing discussions about the St. Patrick's Day parade and downtown closures.

Staff said they coordinate planned capital work with roadway agencies, notify cities in spring about coming capital improvements, and continue to track availability metrics: currently about 71% of bus boardings occur where a shelter exists, 50% where there is light and 40% where there is heat. The council praised the program's steady gains and the improved reporting tools for maintenance requests.

Metro Transit officials said the full updated Better Bus Stops guidelines and a map of candidate stops are available on the Met Council website and invited council members to contact staff with locations for consideration.