RuralTransportation

Equity in

Executive Summary

Increasing Sunline TransitAgency's Ridership &

Improving Resident HealthThrough Bus Shelters

Policy brief prepared by theWomen's Policy Institute-County

Rural Transportation Team

Amber AmayaCoachella Unincorporated

Daisy RamirezRiverside University Health System,

Public Health

Lupita De AndaBuilding Healthy Communities

Coachella Valley

Mariela MaganaLeadership Counsel for Justice and

Accountability

Contact Daisy Ramirez atDRamirez@rivcocha.org for more

information.

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The Eastern Coachella Valley (ECV)’s most vulnerablepopulations are regularly exposed to temperaturesexceeding 120 degrees Fahrenheit while waiting for publictransportation at bus stops without shelters (shadestructures). This prolonged exposure to extreme weatherconditions creates a negative health impact on individuals,especially women, children, pregnant women and theelderly in the ECV.

Sunline Transit Agency’s Bus Shelter Design andImplementation Policy determines the placement of everybus shelter from Desert Hot Springs to North Shore, an areathat spans more than 50 miles in Riverside County. Theagency’s bus shelter policy uses indicators like ridershipand infrastructure to determine where Sunline willconstruct bus shelters. However, because these indicatorsinadvertently favor urban areas, fewer bus stop amenitiesare allocated to rural communities, which likelyreduces ridership.

Since Sunline’s goal is to provide high qualitytransportation services to the entire Coachella Valley, werecommend that Sunline Transit Agency adopt a Rural BusShelter Design and Implementation Policy to meet theneeds of rural unincorporated communities in RiversideCounty, specifically the ECV. The Rural Bus Shelter Designand Implementation Policy would help prevent negativehealth outcomes among the most vulnerable populations.

The Problem & Context

The Eastern Coachella Valley (ECV) is considered one of themost disadvantaged areas in California.(1) Lack of accessto transportation has long plagued the more than 21,000residents living in this unincorporated and rural area.(2)

Because the area is largely decentralized, ECV residentsmust heavily depend on combinations of public transit,walking/biking and informal ride sharing for transportationin order to get to work, children to school, or to shop forfamily food. In 2013, due to community advocacy efforts,the regional public transportation provider, Sunline TransitAgency, established the first and only bus line, Line 95, toserve the most isolated community in the ECV, North Shore.However access to transportation remains a top priority forresidents in the ECV. A majority of the bus stops in the ruralarea do not have shade structures to protect residents fromthe searing desert sun.

Violeta Lopez, North Shoreresident, waits at a bus stopon 70th Ave. Lopez uses Line95, which comes once everythree hours, to travel toCoachella for groceryshopping and employmentopportunities.

Sunline’s current Bus Shelter Design and Implementation Policy, as described in the SunlineTransit Facilities Design Manual(3), utilizes a Bus Shelter Placement Rating Checklist todetermine the construction of a bus shelter at a bus stop. The checklist analyzes the need for anew bus shelters at a bus stop based on the following criteria: current amenities, next shelteredstop, service population and the site preparation/feasibility. Based on these criteria, points areawarded to a bus stop based on the readiness of the bus stop location with therecommendation of erecting a bus shelter as a standard feature only when daily boardingexceeds 50 riders per day.(4) In using these criteria uniformly throughout all areas served bySunline, the checklist discourages the construction of bus shelters in rural areas, like the ECV,where population density is relatively lower.

Summary of SunlineTransit Agency's BusStop Amenities

Only 33 percent ofbus stops inunincorporatedareas, including theEastern CoachellaValley, have shelters,also known as shadestructures.

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Results from a survey administered by the WPI-County RuralTransportation Team show that community members wouldbe incentivized to use public transit more often if shadestructures and seating were constructed at bus shelters neartheir homes. Secondly, the surveys showed that, on average,ECV residents wait more than 15 minutes at a time at anexposed bus stop. Several residents reported their healthbeing affected while waiting at an exposed bus stop. Theyreported incidents of headaches and even heat stroke. (5)

If the current Bus Shelter Design and Implementation Policyremains in place, the health effects that result from sun andheat exposure will continue to discourage ridership.

Selected Results from WPI-CountyRural Transportation Survey

said shade structures wouldmotivate them to use public

transportation

said all shade structures inthe Eastern Coachella Valley

should have bus stops

Policy Options

1. Continue using the current Bus Shelter Design and Implementation Policy

2. Expand Deviated Service Option for Line 95

Uses standard approachfor all jurisdictionsSunline serves.Favors urban, highpopulation density areasand leaves rural,unincorporated areas at adisadvantageIgnores research on thenegative healthimplications of prolongedexposure to extreme heaton vulnerablepopulations, includingwomen and children.

Residents must reservethe service in advanceDoes not address theneeds of communitymembers who regularlywait at bus stops to travelto school or work Cannot provide adequateservice for 21,000+residents living inunincorporated areas

There are two policy options before Sunline at this time. Thefirst is to continue using the current Bus Shelter Design andImplementation Policy created by Sunline in 2005. Thesecond is to expand the deviated service option for pickingup and dropping off residents in North Shore (Line 95).However, both options are inadequate for rural communitiesbecause they do not take into account the unique mobilityneeds of the decentralized, transit-dependent areas.

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Women like me, who arepregnant or have children,need a place to wait in the

shade. I live near a bus stopbut others, who live far away,sometimes wait hours under

extreme heat and it’sexhausting. I don’t know howto drive and I don’t have any

other means of transportation,I will now have to use the busmore frequently to go to my

doctor appointments. If therewas shade and a bench, when Iget dizzy, nauseous or weak, Icould at least sit and wait until

it passed.

- Maria Pozar,North Shore Resident

(Sunline Line 95)

"

"

$51

the average amount spentweekly on transportation

Bus shelter construction should not be prioritized based on the presence of infrastructure.Improvements made to bus shelters should not be prioritized based on the presence ofsidewalks or concrete slabs. Though Sunline Transit Agency does recommend sidewalks beadded, Riverside County does not require the presence of sidewalks as a prerequisite forinstalling a bus shelter in unincorporated areas.(5)

Bus shelter designs should have community input for affordable, alternative designs in ruralcommunities.Residents in rural communities should be engaged in the bus shelter design process.Results from a survey administered by the WPI-County Rural Transportation Team showthat residents reported they would like to see bus shelters in the ECV utilize alternativedesigns that would incorporate elements like community art.(6)

Sunline should resource sustainable, reusable materials for durable, alternative shelterdesigns.A recent study from the UC Davis Center for Regional Change described a case study thatused sustainable bus shelter prototypes in decentralized parts of Tucson, Arizona. Theproject focused on testing four bus shelter designs in an area that has similar weatherconditions as the ECV. Although they needed refinement, the prototypes proved thatalternative bus shelter designs can work in transit-dependent areas like the ECV.(7)

Sunline should prioritize seeking funding for the design and construction of bus shelters inits rural, unincorporated jurisdictions and the agency should engage local communitypartners and stakeholders in the process. Only 33 percent of bus stops in Sunline's rural, unincorporated jurisdictions have busshelters, compared to the 59-68 percent in Sunline's more urban jurisdictions. By prioritizingseeking funding for the rural, unincorporated areas, Sunline will ensure an equitable busstop improvement process.

Over the past three years, Line 95 ridership has beensparse and has decreased in the 15/16 fiscal year,making it less cost effective for Sunline to continueoperating the bus line.

Now is the time for the Sunline Transit Agency to actand increase their ridership by adopting a Rural BusShelter Design and Implementation Policy that will helpbring those much-needed bus shelters to theunderserved, unincorporated area of the ECV andincentivize community members to use public transit.

Policy Recommendation

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Passengers Per Revenue Hour (PPRH)Fiscal Year Totalsfor Sunline Line 95

8.5 PPRH

8.5 PPRH

7.3 PPRH

FY 13/14

FY 14/15

FY 15/16

Rural Bus Shelter Design and Implementation Policy:

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Conclusion

Because Sunline’s goal is to provide high qualitytransportation services to the entire Coachella Valley, theauthors recommend that Sunline Transit Agency adopt aRural Bus Shelter Design and Implementation Policy tomeet the needs of rural communities in Riverside County,specifically the ECV.

Potentially more than 21, 000 people can benefit from thischange in policy. It is urgent for Sunline to adopt this newrural Bus Shelter Construction and Design Policy nowbecause it would increase ridership of Line 95 and preventnegative health outcomes for the ECV’s most vulnerablepopulations, including women and children, pregnant womenand the elderly.

Appendices and Sources

1. CalEnviroScreen 3.02. United States Census Bureau3. Sunline Transit Facilities Design Manual — Appendix C4. Sunline Transit Facilities Design Manual — Table 5.25. Interview with Anita Petke, Sunline Transit Planning Manager (Oct. 2016)6. WPI-County Rural Transportation Team Survey7. Journal of Architecture and Planning, Vol. 26 (2), pp. 29-428. RTA Bus Stop Design Guidelines, 6.3, pp. 32

In 2015, the Riverside Transit Agency (RTA), theconsolidated transportation agency for western RiversideCounty, developed a new Bus Stop Strategic Policy tooutline how the agency should allocate bus stop amenities,including shelters, throughout their jurisdictions. The newpolicy prioritizes a geographic equity element aimed athelping jurisdictions with lower ridership.(8)

A Rural Bus Shelter Design and Implementation Policywould similarly help ensure the equitable allocation ofbus stop amenities within Sunline Transit Agency'sjurisdictions.

There has been many timeswhen the bus does not come on

time. I do not use the bus butmy children do and when [thebus] does not come on time,

they have to wait for a long timewithout shade or a place to sit.

The shade would also helpincrease the number of users

because there are a lot ofelderly and youth that don’tdrive or have a car in North

Shore.

- Irma SotoNorth Shore Resident

(Line 95)

"

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A bus stop in the EasternCoachella Valley outfitted

with full amenities, includinga shade structure, bench,

trash cash andadvertisement cabinet.