Twitterverse reacts to LA's missing bus shelters with #SeekingShade creativity

Published May 2, 2016 3:06 PM

A man stands in the shadow cast by an electric pole as he waits for the bus at a stop with no bus shelter. Less than a quarter of L.A. bus stops have shelters and a city plan to add more has fallen apart.

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Readers and listeners are reacting to a KPCC investigation on how Los Angeles lacks enough bus shelters with a flurry of photos of the worst stops and tips on coping while waiting for the bus.

KPCC found less than half of the bus shelters the city of Los Angeles planned under a 2001 contract have been installed. That has left more than 800 bus stops without protection to shade riders and has cost the city tens of millions of dollars in unrealized advertising revenue.

Of the nearly 8,000 bus stops in the city of L.A., less than a quarter currently have shelters.

The issue is such a popular topic on Twitter it already has a hashtag: #SeekingShade.

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We call it #seekingshade, like here outside Vermont & Santa Monica station @meghamama pic.twitter.com/zEmnGRXAOk
— Los Angeles Walks (@LosAngelesWalks) April 29, 2016

Folks sent in shots and offered all kinds of creative ways for #SeekingShade in the absence of a shelter.

A tweeter with the organization Investing in Place told us it's common to see bus riders waiting in shade cast by plants, buildings or light poles.

Erick Huerta, who works with Multicultural Communities for Mobility, tweeted he follows the shade of trees throughout the day. And StudioMMD added some people even wait at a shelter on the other side of the street and then run across the road when their bus approaches.

Check out all of the reactions we've received to our investigation into L.A.'s missing bus shelters and add your own! Tweet us @KPCC or leave us a comment below.