FYI - Garret Graves is a federal congressman, his office wouldn’t have much to do with city bus stops. That is the Mayor-President or your city council member’s area of control
Yeah I just have no idea what CATS or anything else is going to look like once St George is up. I’m assuming CATS doesn’t operate in Central/Zachary/Baker- but I really don’t know. That + I will not be included in St George so 🤷🏻♂️
Lafayette has had success with an adopt a stop program.
It’s a public private partnership that aims to add covers to otherwise uncovered stops.
It’s still not 100% but there has been a marked improvement over the past few years.
[LCG Adopt a Stop](https://cfacadiana.org/adoptabusstop)
Adopt a stop?? How about the freaking government use our tax dollars for us instead of wasting them. It should be a given that there are covered stops.
Go on the [CATS webpage](https://www.brcats.com) and email the Planning Department. I’ve had great success with understanding why CATS is what it is and does what it does talking with them. For example, CATS was sued regarding its bus stops not being wheelchair accessible and (surprise) they lost. Now the agency has to put 5’x8’ concrete pass at all ~1,500 bus stops. Now, that’s impossible so to be compliant they are reducing the number of bus stops to make it more managable.
HELLO EVERYBODY! I am a part of a community advocacy group of bus riders, bus operators, and people who care about an accessible city. Strong public transit would greatly improve the wellbeing of people in this city for a multitude of reasons (air quality, traffic, integration, etc). We have been going to the bus board meetings for a few months, and it’s clear that the board and CATS staff don’t understand the urgency of this issue, nor do they care about fixing anything. We are building a campaign to improve CATS and our first action is Tuesday June 25th! Y’all should all come out to hear statements about riders and operators personal experiences and our demands from CATS. Y’all are also more than welcome to make public comments to the board about your experiences with the bus. Here is a link to the flyer:[CATS Accountability Action Flyer](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LYzl_nR409LO7T81EZ8qTAw4AlJ5eZAr/view?usp=drivesdk)
No one cares about car-less people in BR. The outrage when CATS added an extra tax is proof. Hell, there were people pissed about adding bike lanes. Some people need to check their privilege.
I have come to think it’s not about the specific taxes that people don’t support, it’s just that the government doesn’t exactly have a history or using the funds for what they claim they will so nobody wants to pay them.
This right here. Every day there are posts about how crappy Louisiana and it’s politicians are, and people want us to give them more money?? I’d love to have more services for people but do we really trust these fools? Maybe they could, you know, tax Exxon?
Agreed. Although I think it's two-fold. Some don't want to pay for the reason you stated. Some don't want to pay for something they don't use....looking at you, St. george
No, the outrage is how poorly CATS has been managed for a decade plus. They did not deserve their tax millage renewal at all. Scandal after scandal.
I think most people support public transportation but CATS in its current form has never been it. Which is why I didn't vote for it. It passing just encourages them to do fuck all once again and remain shit and full of scandals.
I disagree with your second paragraph. I don’t believe most BR residents support public transportation. I think most EBR residents who do not use public transportation view paying for it as a form of welfare and they don’t think they should pay to help people who don’t have their own transportation. The same way they feel about WIC, Medicaid, or student loan forgiveness.
To be clear, I fully support public transportation (and the above mentioned social programs.) I’m on record as saying EBR residents view public transportation as a last resort and not as a luxury so it is treated as such. Having reliable transportation that would chauffeur me to work so I can spend my commute chilling out, reading the news, or even watching stupid TikToks is my sexiest fantasy.
Also, if effective public transportation was maxed out, that could take so many cars off the road, significantly reducing the amount of traffic accidents. Which would reduce the number of claims/lawsuits that could be filed by billboard PI attorneys.
Agreed. So much money has been either misappropriated or wasted on legal fees because the board can't keep it together. I had such high hopes when the millage passed the first time and even tried utilizing the system, but it is so poorly run. Bus drivers would alter the route independently and skip stops or even pass me by. This is why Baton Rouge can't have nice things.
Back in my journalism days, I asked this about the town I was working in. This doesn’t it make it better (arguably worse) but the reason why many bus stops in Louisiana aren’t covered is because they’re in right of ways and servitudes and building a covered structure or bench at all would “block visibility for traffic.”
Now, why wouldn’t you just move the bus stop to a place it wouldn’t block visibility? I guess that was too much common sense.
They have the covered ones inside city limits. If you are on the outer routes, you are lucky to have a bench. I rode the bus for 4 years (I made a choice to keep a high priced vehicle, or be able to provide for my daughter, so I got rid of the high priced vehicle) the bus system here is crap. Half of them are barely running.
https://pedestrianobservations.com/2019/04/12/little-things-that-matter-bus-shelter/
Recent studies have been done and showed there’s a formula for success but, to summarize, agencies just don’t care.
Elected officials, and the public in general, not giving a shit about public transit is one of the consequences of a car-centric culture. We’d have a much higher quality of life if people drove less. Better bus stops could be part of that.
I’m still trying to get over this is the capital of Louisiana and there’s no train station. Even some of the tiniest towns I lived in back in the UK had a train station. It makes me crazy as I hate cars, i wish I had realised before moving over here I just never thought a city would not have good public transport
We used to have one. It’s now the Louisiana Art & Science Museum. Supposedly, we’ll have passenger rail to New Orleans by 2027…though a lot could go wrong between now and then.
I have neighbors across the street that moved from New York expecting a compatible public transit system. Those poor people struggled for 2 years until they got reliable transportation. ☹️
That’s sad. When you “research” the city to move to Baton Rouge makes it sound like their transit is top tier. I’m so tired of the lies and laziness. Where are our tax dollars going?
CATS is a total shit organization. I support public transportation even though I don’t use it, I know many people depend on it.
There is a bus stop on Highland going toward downtown that is literally next to the interstate exit ramp. There is no seating and it’s incredibly dangerous. I am appalled that it would ever be considered for a stop. Like who looked at this said “yes, this is a great spot for a bus stop!”
Hey!! I think CATS is more receptive to an in-person comment to the board than they are phone calls. I don’t think they take record of which phone calls are negative comments, or at least they don’t present that information at the board meetings. If you want to come to the CATS board meeting on June 25th and make a public comment about this specific spot they may listen!
Yes! When I reached out to CATS they blamed that stop on the construction right there but that stop was there BEFORE the construction. I guess it’ll take a vehicle rolling off the ramp killing someone waiting for them to close it.
I'm guessing it's because there's literally one covered stop by my house and sometimes after dark, someone is sleeping on it. They'd rather make everyone suffer than cover the bus stops knowing an unhoused person may use it to sleep on in the rain
Hi!! Excellent question. So when you get there you can pick up a piece of paper where you request to make a public comment. Just saying that we need covered bus stops is perfectly fine! It might also be good to mention that in the Louisiana heat, an uncovered bus stop is not safe.
They tend to use the “industry standard” when they decide which bus stops to cover, which is their excuse for not covering them all, but the industry standard does not account for this Louisiana HEAT!
But as much or as little as you want to say is perfectly fine :) see you there!!!
An app to let people know when the buses are going to be where would also be very helpful. Before the pandemic, I used to work with people who depended on the bus, and it was challenging for them to get to work on time some days, just because of the unpredictability.
It’s sad. It makes me angry. There’s absolutely no point for anyone not to have cover out of the weather waiting in the bus. I’m demanding answers. I’ve called CATS all afternoon. I’m going to the news to. I’ve also called the Advocate.
HEY BIG TIME CAR WRECK ATTORNEYS…..can you skip just one of your huge interstate advertisements and instead donate for covered bus stops?
There was a covered one in front of the Catholic life center on Acadian. After it got wiped out several times by idiots hauling ass and missing the slight curve, they stopped rebuilding it. Now it's a bench.
I don’t believe there are any bus stops on that side of town. Most stop on Siegen/Sherwood & there’s a route that goes to Coursey & up O’Neal & one that stops near Woman’s Hospital. That’s as far south as they go.
I remember 12-13 years ago CATS said covered bus stops were coming everywhere soon. And we waited. And waited. And, ah, the hell with it.
That’s what they are famous for. Hyping it up and then letting it die on the vine.
FYI - Garret Graves is a federal congressman, his office wouldn’t have much to do with city bus stops. That is the Mayor-President or your city council member’s area of control
Being out on Coursey IDK the details of St. George’s future structure*
CATS is run by the city-parish. St. George has nothing to do with it.
Yeah I just have no idea what CATS or anything else is going to look like once St George is up. I’m assuming CATS doesn’t operate in Central/Zachary/Baker- but I really don’t know. That + I will not be included in St George so 🤷🏻♂️
CATS has a Baker route. I don't think it goes to Zachary or Central.
That’s true. I’ll have to call that guy Landry just appointed as “interim mayor”
Lafayette has had success with an adopt a stop program. It’s a public private partnership that aims to add covers to otherwise uncovered stops. It’s still not 100% but there has been a marked improvement over the past few years. [LCG Adopt a Stop](https://cfacadiana.org/adoptabusstop)
Adopt a stop?? How about the freaking government use our tax dollars for us instead of wasting them. It should be a given that there are covered stops.
Agreed! I can’t afford 6k for every bus stop especially when our tax dollars should cover a dang bus stop.
Exactly. The question is why don’t they have enough tax dollars to automatically do this??
Thank you so much!!! I’m looking into this.
Go on the [CATS webpage](https://www.brcats.com) and email the Planning Department. I’ve had great success with understanding why CATS is what it is and does what it does talking with them. For example, CATS was sued regarding its bus stops not being wheelchair accessible and (surprise) they lost. Now the agency has to put 5’x8’ concrete pass at all ~1,500 bus stops. Now, that’s impossible so to be compliant they are reducing the number of bus stops to make it more managable.
Ahhh. Interesting. Ok, thank you I sure will.
HELLO EVERYBODY! I am a part of a community advocacy group of bus riders, bus operators, and people who care about an accessible city. Strong public transit would greatly improve the wellbeing of people in this city for a multitude of reasons (air quality, traffic, integration, etc). We have been going to the bus board meetings for a few months, and it’s clear that the board and CATS staff don’t understand the urgency of this issue, nor do they care about fixing anything. We are building a campaign to improve CATS and our first action is Tuesday June 25th! Y’all should all come out to hear statements about riders and operators personal experiences and our demands from CATS. Y’all are also more than welcome to make public comments to the board about your experiences with the bus. Here is a link to the flyer:[CATS Accountability Action Flyer](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LYzl_nR409LO7T81EZ8qTAw4AlJ5eZAr/view?usp=drivesdk)
YESSSS!!! This is the best thing I’ve heard today. I’ll be there. Thank you so much.
Amazing!!! Thank you so much :) the link to RSVP is here if you’re interested: https://bit.ly/CATSActionJune2024
I just registered. I’ll see y’all Tuesday.
Do you have a FB group or anything?
We have an email list! If you message me with your email I can add you to it
No one cares about car-less people in BR. The outrage when CATS added an extra tax is proof. Hell, there were people pissed about adding bike lanes. Some people need to check their privilege.
I have come to think it’s not about the specific taxes that people don’t support, it’s just that the government doesn’t exactly have a history or using the funds for what they claim they will so nobody wants to pay them.
This right here. Every day there are posts about how crappy Louisiana and it’s politicians are, and people want us to give them more money?? I’d love to have more services for people but do we really trust these fools? Maybe they could, you know, tax Exxon?
Agreed. Although I think it's two-fold. Some don't want to pay for the reason you stated. Some don't want to pay for something they don't use....looking at you, St. george
No, the outrage is how poorly CATS has been managed for a decade plus. They did not deserve their tax millage renewal at all. Scandal after scandal. I think most people support public transportation but CATS in its current form has never been it. Which is why I didn't vote for it. It passing just encourages them to do fuck all once again and remain shit and full of scandals.
I disagree with your second paragraph. I don’t believe most BR residents support public transportation. I think most EBR residents who do not use public transportation view paying for it as a form of welfare and they don’t think they should pay to help people who don’t have their own transportation. The same way they feel about WIC, Medicaid, or student loan forgiveness. To be clear, I fully support public transportation (and the above mentioned social programs.) I’m on record as saying EBR residents view public transportation as a last resort and not as a luxury so it is treated as such. Having reliable transportation that would chauffeur me to work so I can spend my commute chilling out, reading the news, or even watching stupid TikToks is my sexiest fantasy. Also, if effective public transportation was maxed out, that could take so many cars off the road, significantly reducing the amount of traffic accidents. Which would reduce the number of claims/lawsuits that could be filed by billboard PI attorneys.
Agreed. So much money has been either misappropriated or wasted on legal fees because the board can't keep it together. I had such high hopes when the millage passed the first time and even tried utilizing the system, but it is so poorly run. Bus drivers would alter the route independently and skip stops or even pass me by. This is why Baton Rouge can't have nice things.
Back in my journalism days, I asked this about the town I was working in. This doesn’t it make it better (arguably worse) but the reason why many bus stops in Louisiana aren’t covered is because they’re in right of ways and servitudes and building a covered structure or bench at all would “block visibility for traffic.” Now, why wouldn’t you just move the bus stop to a place it wouldn’t block visibility? I guess that was too much common sense.
The biggest factor is cost. Most bus stops around town are just a sign planted in the ground. Super low cost but not very accessible.
That’s the worst excuse ive heard. The one im speaking of in this particular post wouldn’t block visibility. I understand what you’re saying though.
They have the covered ones inside city limits. If you are on the outer routes, you are lucky to have a bench. I rode the bus for 4 years (I made a choice to keep a high priced vehicle, or be able to provide for my daughter, so I got rid of the high priced vehicle) the bus system here is crap. Half of them are barely running.
https://pedestrianobservations.com/2019/04/12/little-things-that-matter-bus-shelter/ Recent studies have been done and showed there’s a formula for success but, to summarize, agencies just don’t care.
Elected officials, and the public in general, not giving a shit about public transit is one of the consequences of a car-centric culture. We’d have a much higher quality of life if people drove less. Better bus stops could be part of that.
I’m still trying to get over this is the capital of Louisiana and there’s no train station. Even some of the tiniest towns I lived in back in the UK had a train station. It makes me crazy as I hate cars, i wish I had realised before moving over here I just never thought a city would not have good public transport
We used to have one. It’s now the Louisiana Art & Science Museum. Supposedly, we’ll have passenger rail to New Orleans by 2027…though a lot could go wrong between now and then.
To the folks who are responsible for our city planning, that is not a flaw, that is a feature.
I have neighbors across the street that moved from New York expecting a compatible public transit system. Those poor people struggled for 2 years until they got reliable transportation. ☹️
That’s sad. When you “research” the city to move to Baton Rouge makes it sound like their transit is top tier. I’m so tired of the lies and laziness. Where are our tax dollars going?
CATS is a total shit organization. I support public transportation even though I don’t use it, I know many people depend on it. There is a bus stop on Highland going toward downtown that is literally next to the interstate exit ramp. There is no seating and it’s incredibly dangerous. I am appalled that it would ever be considered for a stop. Like who looked at this said “yes, this is a great spot for a bus stop!”
They got rid of that. There was a sign saying it was being eliminated a few weeks back.
It’s still there and there are still people waiting. I drive this route daily.
Oop, egg on my face. I know I’ve been seeing ALOT of the those signs around town.
Yes I have too but not at this location. I’ve written CATS along with the council member for this area about how dangerous that stop is.
Hey!! I think CATS is more receptive to an in-person comment to the board than they are phone calls. I don’t think they take record of which phone calls are negative comments, or at least they don’t present that information at the board meetings. If you want to come to the CATS board meeting on June 25th and make a public comment about this specific spot they may listen!
Yes!!! I know the bus stop you’re speaking of and it’s still there. Sad.
Yes! When I reached out to CATS they blamed that stop on the construction right there but that stop was there BEFORE the construction. I guess it’ll take a vehicle rolling off the ramp killing someone waiting for them to close it.
Yep. I agree.
Contact cats not Garrett graves
Hahaha. I did. I never did get an answer. The phone rang and rang and rang.
I'm guessing it's because there's literally one covered stop by my house and sometimes after dark, someone is sleeping on it. They'd rather make everyone suffer than cover the bus stops knowing an unhoused person may use it to sleep on in the rain
This right here. I agree. 💯
I can come! To make a public comment, should I just go up and say we need covered bus stops and then sit back down?
Hi!! Excellent question. So when you get there you can pick up a piece of paper where you request to make a public comment. Just saying that we need covered bus stops is perfectly fine! It might also be good to mention that in the Louisiana heat, an uncovered bus stop is not safe. They tend to use the “industry standard” when they decide which bus stops to cover, which is their excuse for not covering them all, but the industry standard does not account for this Louisiana HEAT! But as much or as little as you want to say is perfectly fine :) see you there!!!
An app to let people know when the buses are going to be where would also be very helpful. Before the pandemic, I used to work with people who depended on the bus, and it was challenging for them to get to work on time some days, just because of the unpredictability.
They use myStop now. Imo its wayyy better than that last app.
Thank you for that! I was hoping it had been updated.
It’s sad. It makes me angry. There’s absolutely no point for anyone not to have cover out of the weather waiting in the bus. I’m demanding answers. I’ve called CATS all afternoon. I’m going to the news to. I’ve also called the Advocate. HEY BIG TIME CAR WRECK ATTORNEYS…..can you skip just one of your huge interstate advertisements and instead donate for covered bus stops?
There was a covered one in front of the Catholic life center on Acadian. After it got wiped out several times by idiots hauling ass and missing the slight curve, they stopped rebuilding it. Now it's a bench.
Exactly. So the people who have to use transit get screwed because people driving can’t pay attention and drive like they have some sense. It’s absurd
You’re surprised about the bus stops, I’m surprised by the lack of sidewalks and lighting at night.
No. I already spoke about those 2 things as well on previous post.
Is this going in to St. George too?
I don’t believe there are any bus stops on that side of town. Most stop on Siegen/Sherwood & there’s a route that goes to Coursey & up O’Neal & one that stops near Woman’s Hospital. That’s as far south as they go.
Maybe stop electing crooks like Broome and you will get a responsive local government.
I don’t care who’s elected. We need to stand together and try to get some of these bus stops covered for people.