Go Durham bus stops | Durham Herald Sun

“How to build a better bus stop” article in The Herald-Sun June 16 spells out a need that’s been ignored for far too long in our city. The GoDurham people and the City administration have failed to address the need for decent bus stop shelters for the people who must depend on our bus system to get to the places they must go. The lack of decent, safe, lighted shelters for people who have no choice but to use the buses shows a glaring disregard for those citizens while moving rapidly to build a light rail system that virtually ignores and will not serve the people who have no other choice. While one shelter design would not fit all stops, I suspect two or three different types would. Durham could perhaps be an early leader in utilizing a “public/private” partnership to satisfy our need for the shelters.

I suspect local businesses as well as civic-minded individuals would be willing to participate in the cost of providing them. Technology is available that could provide both cities and suburbs throughout the Triangle area with fully electric, or hybrid/electric articulating buses utilizing computer routing that would allow riders to use a phone app to determine where and when the next bus will arrive at the shelter where the rider is waiting. Buses with good shelters for the riders would surely cost much less than a rail system. At the least, good bus stop shelters should come first.