Bus shelters go solar  

As part of the Eco-City initiative and efforts to cut cost, the City used a state capital grant to install two new solar-illuminated bus shelters along Mt. Vernon Avenue in December. Solar energy is a cost-effective and environmentally-friendly way of providing lighting to passengers waiting in shelters at night and in the early morning hours. Lighting at bus stops creates a safer environment and is an overall amenity to the bus-riding public. Additionally, lighting assists bus drivers with seeing passengers waiting at the stops.

Solar-illuminated shelters and stops offer numerous benefits – there is no need to connect them to the electrical grid; they are powered by reusable energy; and they do not increase the City’s utility costs. Bus shelters, stops, and canopies that now have solar-powered lighting are equipped with solar-illumination kits, which are highly reliable and contain an LED lighting element that has a lifetime of 100,000 hours, or 5-7 years. During the day, the solar panel charges the battery, which provides approximately ten hours of illumination throughout the night. At solar-illuminated bus stops, riders can press a button that turns the light on at the top of the pole. The lights at shelters, however, come on automatically around dusk.

Look for solar features at a bus stop near you

• Shelter – Mt. Vernon Avenue and W. Glebe Road
  Served by: DASH AT10  Metrobus 10A, 10B, 10E
• Shelter – Mt. Vernon Avenue and E. Oxford Avenue
  Served by:  DASH AT10  Metrobus 10A, 10B, 10E
• Shelter – U.S. Route 1 and E. Reed Avenue (Potomac Yard)
  Served by:  Metrobus 9A, 9E
• Shelter – Jamieson Avenue and Courthouse Square
  Served by:  DASH AT6, AT7
• Shelter – Ballenger Avenue and John Carlyle Street
  Served by:  DASH AT6, AT7
• Canopy – Hunting Point on the Potomac (1204 S. Washington)
  Served by:  DASH AT3 Metrobus 10A, 10B, 11Y
• Stop – N. Van Dorn Street and Kenmore Avenue
  Served by:  DASH AT1 Metrobus 8W, 8X, 8Z
• Stop – Lincolnia Road and Quantrell Avenue (Tower 2000)
  Served by:  Metrobus 7A, 7F, 7H, 7W

City staff has received a lot of positive feedback from passengers who have experienced the two new shelters. The solar illumination at these shelters is the beginning of the City’s greater effort to expand this feature to more stops in the future. If you have enjoyed one of the newly lit shelters and want to share your comments, please contact Pierre Holloman, Urban Planner, at 703-838-3800 x5 or pierre.holloman@alexandriava.gov.