Bids are due next week for Boston's bus shelters and public toilets. The council has a 20-year deal in front of it

Most of Boston's bus shelters, the city map panels on sidewalks and the handful of self-cleaning public toilets are not paid for with tax dollars. They come from a contract that lets a private company sell advertising on them. That contract is ending, and the city is choosing a new one.

What's happening

The city's Property Management Department released a request for proposals for a new "coordinated street furniture" program on Sept. 7, according to the city's bid listing. Proposals are due before noon on Wednesday, Nov. 4. The scope covers bus shelters, public toilets, information panels, digital displays, benches and related amenities. The city says the program is meant to improve "comfort, accessibility, equity, real-time information, and maintenance," while increasing advertising revenue and strengthening city oversight.

The current operator, JCDecaux, is in the final year of a 25-year contract, the trade publication Billboard Insider reported in September. Citing the company's 2025 report to the city, it said JCDecaux pays Boston a fixed $1.5 million a year plus 10% to 15% of gross revenue depending on the type of structure, and paid $1.2 million in revenue share in March 2026. The city's program page lists 281 bus shelters, 106 city information panels, 47 digital billboards and seven self-cleaning, accessible public toilets, and puts the program's revenue to the city at $36,637,430.

For riders, the new contract will decide how many shelters there are, where they go, whether they have real-time arrival screens, and whether Boston gets more public restrooms.

What our records show

The council has a role. On Oct. 7, the mayor filed an order asking the council to authorize Property Management to sign a contract of up to 20 years to "manage, maintain, expand, and modernize" the program (docket 1886). According to the order, the first term would run from May 2027 to April 30, 2037, with two five-year extensions at the city's option. The order says the program is intended to make public transit more attractive as a way to commute.

The order was referred to the Planning, Development and Transportation Committee, chaired by City Councilor Sharon Durkan. Our records show no hearing scheduled yet. It is one of 26 mayoral orders now in committee (our story).

The program has come up only in passing at council meetings this year. At a May 4 Ways and Means Committee budget hearing, a city official listed the street furniture program among the responsibilities of the department that oversees it (watch at 36:09). At a March 3 City Services Committee hearing on snow, a city official said the city was continuing to work with the MBTA on the best way to clear bus stops (watch at 2:09:17).

What to watch

• Term length. A 20-year authorization is long by city standards. Councilors will decide whether to grant it as written.
• Toilets. The current program has seven public toilets, according to the city. The order does not set a number for the new program.
• Ad revenue and oversight. The bid documents, not the council order, will set the city's share of advertising revenue and the maintenance standards.
• Timing. The current contract ends in 2026 under the city's program page, while the order says the new term would begin in May 2027.

What's next

Proposals are due Nov. 4. Durkan's committee would need to hold a hearing and report the order back before the full council can vote on it; the docket page will show any hearing date. Questions about the bid go to the Property Management contract unit listed on the bid page.