Some of these stops have bus shelters and benches — even digital signs telling commuters the length of time until the next bus arrives — but others only have a blue sign that reads “Bus Stop.”
Brian Litchfield, Chapel Hill Transit director, said out of the 597 bus stops in the Chapel Hill transit system, about 26 percent of them have passenger amenities — bus shelters, benches and digital signs — a percentage higher than other transit systems in the area with about the same number of stops.
“But we’re not satisfied with that number,” Litchfield said.
Litchfield tweeted Wednesday that Chapel Hill Transit was excited to announce plans to start some new bus stop improvements.
Litchfield said these improvements would include upgrading some older bus stops to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The act was first passed by Congress in 1990.
“We have stops that have not been improved since those stops were probably placed in 1974 and 1975 when the system started,” Litchfield said.
He said improvements to bus stops to make them more accessible could include installing sidewalk curbs and cutting ramps into the sidewalk. Other improvements would include adding benches and bus shelters.
Renovation time would vary, with the installation of bus shelters taking a few hours to a day, while installing sidewalk curbs would take longer to complete.
