Metro has scaled back plans to add plastic shields to protect its bus drivers after board members raised concerns about how they would appear to riders. The transit agency had proposed adding shields to 301 buses of its approximately 1,500-bus fleet starting as soon as January, retrofitting them onto 250 existing buses and getting them on 51 new buses slated to start arriving in March. Officials had also said Thursday they were looking for a model that could work on other buses.

Drivers, who had sought the shields as protection for years, applauded the decision.