While county executives from Wayne, Washtenaw, and Oakland convened to discuss the future possibility of a regional transit system for metro Detroit, the Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) has begun installing 40 new bus shelters at locations where none previously existed. An additional 19 existing shelters will be replaced under the effort, which is expected to be completed summer 2020.
The state-of-the-art bus shelters are equipped with solar-powered lighting systems to illuminate the shelters at night, providing customers a safe and more comfortable waiting experience. Additionally, the shelters will feature built-in USB charging ports as a piloted amenity.
Four of the new bus shelters are completed at the following locations: Northbound Livernois at McNichols; Westbound West Grand Boulevard at Grand River; Northbound Conant at Seven Mile; Westbound Mack at Conner; and with eight more to be installed before the end of the year.
“The bus shelters are another step in the right direction for DDOT in revamping the transit experience for our customers,” said Angelica Jones, Interim Director of DDOT. We are committed to making transit a system of choice for everyone and that includes bettering our amenities on and off the buses.”
The new shelters are part of a much larger effort to improve DDOT service. Since 2015, DDOT has purchased more than 100 new buses, added more than 2,000 new weekly trips by adding frequency, establishing a dozen 24-hour routes and adding several new routes from neighborhoods to major city job centers. DDOT recently launched a new 26 Junction route that services Mexicantown and Southwest Detroit.
Small businesses and large corporations also will have the opportunity to secure advertising space on the side panels of the bus shelters. The ad revenue will support the maintenance of the shelters in a new administrated bus shelter program in the near future through Brooklyn Outdoor.
COVER PHOTO: DDOT’s new bus shelter westbound of Mack at Conner in front of the McDonald’s.
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