Los Angeles’ new public transportation tech shelters

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has partnered with Tranzito and Vector Media to design LA’s next generation of transit shelters for the City of Los Angeles Department of Public Works, providing much-needed shade, shelter, and amenities to Angeleno riders and the city at large. “In Los Angeles, shelter is both an equity and a climate change issue. Bus stops are an essential piece of our civic infrastructure response to climate change, particularly in neighborhoods that lack shade,” said Carlos Madrid III, Senior Associate Principal at SOM. “The City of Los Angeles’ Sidewalk and Transit Amenities Program seeks to address this issue, with shelters that provide shade and enhance safety, while bringing technology, art, and vital transit information to communities with the highest ridership.” Designed by SOM in collaboration with Fehr & Peers, Studio 111, Designworks, and Tolar Manufacturing, the new shade and shelter structures will be installed across Los Angeles over the next ten years. The project encompasses a suite of new transportation amenities to enhance the ridership experience for Angelenos, including scooter docking stations for last mile mobility, e-lockers, and information wayfinding kiosks.

Inspired by California Modernism, the design is elegant, simple, and functional, aiming to bring visual cohesion to a large transportation network while simultaneously providing opportunities to tailor the shelters to the communities in which they are located. The design offers a kit of parts that can be scaled up or down to meet specific site conditions and customized with color, graphics and art to reflect a community’s interests and local voice. The new structures are designed as a flexible framework which can evolve and incorporate new technologies as they are developed and deployed. The transit shelters prioritize shade, safety, and the comfort of all users. Throughout, the shelters integrate advanced, real-time bus tracking, public alert systems, a digital art program, and smart lighting technology, bringing state-of-the-art technology and accessibility to LA’s public transportation. Leading the contract for the City of Los Angeles’s Sidewalk and Transit Amenities Program is Tranzito-Vector, a joint venture between smart mobility operator Tranzito and transit advertising company Vector Media. Tranzito-Vector is partnering with both public agencies and private operators to provide much- needed revenues, systems integration, and strategic planning to ensure an equitable and sustainable smart-cities mobility future for all. “We believe it’s time to evolve the bus stop,” said Tranzito CEO Gene Oh.

“As smart mobility experts, our aim is to help cities transform today’s bus stops into tomorrow’s mobility hubs, creating a network of connected infrastructure nodes that offer both passive and active communication on the streets, and provide amenities and comforts that everyday bus riders need.” “We are honored to have been selected by the City of Los Angeles to build out a world-class Sidewalk and Transit Amenities Program,” said Marc Borzykowski, CEO, Vector Media. “Our partnership with Tranzito and the city of LA will be built upon a commitment to providing the citizens of Los Angeles a haven while waiting for the bus, but also providing advertisers with an exciting new canvas to tell their stories.”