DETROIT (WWJ) -- The Detroit Department of Transportation is taking steps to improve its service, announcing it plans to install 40 new bus shelters at stops where shelters did not previously exist.
DDOT says the new "state-of-the-art" shelters -- which will feature built-in USB charging ports -- are equipped with solar-powered lighting systems to illuminate the stops at night for a "safe and more comortable waiting experience."
While 40 new shelters are expected to be installed by next summer, 19 existing shelters will be replaced in the effort, which DDOT says is in response to customer feedback.
DDOT says the new shelters are part of a much larger effort to improve its service.
"Since 2015, DDOT has purchased more than 100 new buses, added more than 2,000 new weekly trips by adding frequency, establishing a dozen 24-hour routes and adding several new routes from neighborhoods to major city job centers," the department said in a statement.
"The bus shelters are another step in the right direction for DDOT in revamping the transit experience for our customers," said Angelica Jones, Interim Director of DDOT. "We are committed to making transit a system of choice for everyone and that includes bettering our amenities on and off the buses."
DDOT says small businesses and large corporations will have the opportunity to advertise on the side panels of the new shelters, with the ad revenue supporting the maintenance of the shelters.