Researchers make troubling discovery about dangerous health issue with bus stops: 'Like an oven'

While transportation accounts for over 20% of planet-warming pollution, public transit reduces it and provides a more affordable and safe alternative for commuting. 

More than two-thirds of public transit users walk to transit stations, according to the American Public Transportation Association, but extreme temperatures can make getting to these stations difficult.

Shelters at transit stations are designed to protect users from extreme temperatures and weather. However, a study at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston discovered some of these shelters worsen the problem, increasing temperatures and transit users' risk for heat stress.

What's happening?

The study measured wet bulb globe temperature –– which combines air temperature, humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation –– in shaded and unshaded areas at bus stops in Houston. While shade reduced WBGT, one type of shelter increased temperatures.

The ground in this type of shelter, when unshaded, was about 5 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than the ground outside the shelter, the researchers discovered. These types of shelters contained aluminum frames and translucent acrylic walls, which "trapped radiation inside the shelter" and made them "like an oven," researcher Kevin Lanza said, per Phys.org.

Why is heat at bus stops important?

Hot temperatures at bus stops increase bus riders' risk for heat stress, which includes "a combination of factors, not just the temperature," according to Lanza, and can develop into life-threatening heat stroke.

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Heat islands also exacerbate transit users' risk for heat stress and heat stroke, occurring in urban areas with more infrastructure and less green space. Temperatures in urban areas average about 1-7 degrees hotter than nonurban areas during the day because of the heat island effect, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. 

The climate crisis is further raising temperatures across all areas, emphasizing the need for effective, shaded shelter at bus stops.

What is being done about the heat at bus stops?

The study identified trees as a strategy to reduce temperatures at bus stops. Trees provided more cooling than shelters, the researchers found, and reduced the risk of heat-related illnesses. When trees are not an option, the researchers recommended constructing shelters with designs that lower heat stress.

Planting trees, in addition to providing cooling, also reduces heat islands, improves air quality, and enhances biodiversity. The study "can serve as evidence for planting trees at bus stops for maximum cooling, and if shelters are the only option, then being strategic in design," Lanza said.

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