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Comments
As I recall, most of these kiosks were actually put up
by the City of Boston, and not the MBTA (as evidenced by the "Information" map). Moreover, I don't think the MBTA had anything to do with the design of the project.
Either way, the apparent goal was to force yet MORE advertising onto society, "asthetically pleasing" design notwithstanding.
You're right, they are put in
You're right, they are put in by the city of Boston....but the city doesn't pay a single cent. It's part of a contract with JCDecaux, which includes random maps around the city and 4 public toilets.
The city lets JC put up ads around the city, and in return, JC provides useful street furniture.
That's why the bus shelters are found where the ads can gain most exposure, and not necessarily where more people will use the shelter. For example, the second to last stop of a bus run, where people will only get off might have one.
The MBTA has a contract with CEMUSA, those shelters were recently installed on the B line. Ancient CEMUSA bus shelters can still be found in some parts of the city, but now without ads.
also
Street furniture contracts (including bus shelters) are done independently by each city, so the product varies. The Wall shelters in Boston are the best in my opinion, while the Cemusa shelters in Cambridge are not so great. The companies were supposed to put shelters at stops with high passenger boarding counts, but the T is so short-staffed these days, I wouldn't be surprised if they just couldn't coordinate with them. However, the T is currently working on a project to identify locations for additional shelters and benches on the key routes.
Note that there are sidewalk width requirements for a shelter (I think 12 feet for a standard Wall shelter) and unfortunately many sidewalks in the city are only 8-10 feet wide. Many sidewalks in Boston could be easily widened if the city's transportation dept had any desire to improve things, but that's another rant...
What's even worse than the
What's even worse than the bus shelters are the mini-billboards that the advertising company also gets to install as part of the deal. They're lighted ad signs on sidewalks and in roadway medians, and don't even pretend to serve any purpose besides advertising.
When I complained via the mayor's 24-hour constituent service website, someone actually wrote back and asked me to call his office. I didn't get a chance to follow up, but my original message included my concerns and the details of some of the billboards, so there wasn't much more I could add.