Rover Public Transit is taking delivery of 16 public transit shelters located along the various Rover routes throughout the City.
Nsite, Inc., a construction company from Milan, Tenn. is installing the shelters, reported Nellie Patton, Murfreesboro Assistant Director of Transportation.
The shelters are primarily being funded with Federal Transit Administration USC 5307 Small Urban Funding, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Funding, Tennessee Department of Transportation Funding, and local funding. Of the approximately $160,000 total cost, 95 percent utilizes federal or state funding.
A total of 16 shelters are being installed through this contract, Patton said. A Service Assessment was completed in August of 2010 by TranSystems and Sterling Communications which included details on locations where the ridership often waited for the buses. This study was used in determining placement of the shelters along the routes, the assistant director said. The shelters range in size from 10 by 5 feet to 15 by 5 feet. Thirteen of the shelters will be the smaller 10 by 5 feet shelters and all shelters will have a bench for seating. Three of the shelters are 15 by 5 feet and will be placed near the Walmart locations on the Mercury Route and the Old Fort Route, with the remaining large shelter being placed near the entrance to state route 840 on Northwest Broad Street at the Regional Transportation Authority Park and Ride location.
Rover public transit ridership for the fiscal year, ending June 30 of t his year, was 259,324. As shown in the accompanying chart, Rover ridership has increased steadily since the inception of Rover in 2007.
Nine new medium-duty, 23-passenger low-floor buses were delivered to Rover this past July and with installation of the passenger waiting shelters this week, Rover is seeking to show its riders their needs and requests are being identified, considered and met to the extent possible within funding and operational considerations.
Source:
Chris Shofner, Public Information, City of Murfreesboro
