Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has unveiled a new design for solar-powered bus shelters destined for locations where there is no access to electricity.
The bus stops will be powered by solar panels to generate electricity to illuminate the shelter and attached advertising signs, the RTA said in a statement.
The announcement came as the government body said it would undertake phase two of providing air-conditioned bus stops for public-transport users in Dubai. As part of the phase, the RTA plans to build 400 new shelters in different parts of Dubai, depending on the demand, bringing the total number of bus shelters to 1285.
“Providing electricity to power air-conditioned shelters in some remote areas was one of the key challenges confronting planners at the initial stage of the project. The RTA has therefore worked on solutions to overcome it by offering solutions to power these shelters through solar power technology,” said Mattar Al Tayer, RTA Chairman.
Offering more air-conditioned bus stops is part of the RTA’s plans to boost the share of public transport in the daily mobility of Dubai residents to 20% in 2020 and 30% by 2030.
The transport authority has already accomplished phase one of building air-conditioned shelters, comprising construction of 885 shelters at 635 bus stops.
In addition to building new stops, the RTA is also looking at providing services like ATMs and vending machines at popular shelters, the statement said.
