adminJuly 20, 2011
Kansas City bus riders won’t be left in the dark anymore.
Kansas City Area Transportation Authority began installing solar panels at bus stop shelters in March to illuminate the stops at night.
The first solar panel was installed at 18th and Troost three years ago as a test site.
KCATA still hasn’t had to replace the battery.
“It has turned out to be a very cost effective way of providing lighting,” KCATA Director of Marketing Cynthia Baker said.
Each solar panel costs between $3,000 and $5,000, Baker said.
For the pilot project, KCATA is using capital funding to install solar panels at 20 bus stops. To date, 15 have been installed and Baker said the rest should be installed this year.
“We certainly want to embrace newer, environmentally friendly technologies and this was an opportunity for us to not only do that but to also provide a safer environment for customers,” Baker said.
KCATA chose bus stop locations based on ridership numbers and on customer feedback about poorly lit stops, Baker said.
If bus riders like the new solar panels, KCATA will try to seek funding for additional solar panel installations, she said.
Bus stops in Northeast with solar panels include:
•Independence Avenue and Woodland
•Independence Avenue and Prospect
•Independence Avenue and Gladstone
•Independence Avenue and Van Brunt
•Truman and Troost
To give feedback on the new solar panel lighting, call KCATA at (816) 346-0236 or email metro@kcata.org.
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