The Most Hated Bus Stop on the Internet Doesn't Deserve Your Scorn

The designers of the now-notorious transit pilot respond to the backlash that greeted the project, and reflect on what it reveals about the city's infrastructure challenges.

A bus rider at one of four stops where the combination sun-shade and night-light pilot has been installed.

Kriston Capps

Subscriber Benefit

Subscribe

On May 18, officials in Los Angeles held a press conference at a bus stop in Westlake to introduce an experiment. The stop at 3rd Street and Union Avenue is one of four locations where the city is trying out a prototype for "La Sombrita," a metal structure that can be attached to existing bus signage to provide a sliver of shade from the sun and solar-powered light at night.

That's the project, full stop: La Sombrita is a low-cost pilot for a small-scale design fix at certain unwelcoming bus stops, according to the people who came up with it. It was never meant to replace bus shelters in Los Angeles, it does not constitute a permanent solution to safety and comfort issues, and it has not cost the public anything — not a single taxpayer dime. It's a nonprofit-funded proof for a concept, a mock-up, a rough draft.