New DART bus shelters announce arrival times

South Dallas resident Tierra Ogwa rides DART buses almost every day. Rain or shine, she walks about five minutes from her home to the stop at Malcolm X Boulevard and Clarence Street, where a bus takes her to pick up her son from Charles Rice Learning Center. She was thrilled that her stop was one of two new “next generation bus shelter” prototypes that DART debuted this summer. 

“Even with the roof covering on the old bus stops, the rain still seeps through. I like that this one looks like it covers more and the rain hopefully won’t get in,” Ogwa says.

The roof extends more than a foot further than DART’s current shelters to better protect riders from weather. The roof panels include insulation with cooling properties beyond standard aluminum to do a better job of warding off the heat. The new shelters also feature additional seating, overhead LED lighting and an illuminated map.  

What Ogwa likes most is the new digital screen that displays and announces when buses are set to arrive.

“Sometimes you don’t know if the bus is coming if you can’t see or hear it. I would be sitting at the bus stop, and sometimes the bus just completely passes. Then I have to wait 30 to 45 minutes for the next bus to arrive,” Ogwa says.

These new passenger information displays located above the bus route map give riders a one-minute notice before the bus shows up. 

The new shelter in South Dallas at Malcolm X and Clarence is one of five pilot shelters across DART’s service area. This one is a “standard” shelter; DART also piloted “slim” and “mini” shelters.

Making sure riders had “seamless mobility,” or fewer waiting times, was one of the goals of the next generation shelters, says DART spokeswoman Jeamy Molina. The display and audio features “allow riders to gather their belongings and have fare ready for boarding. This should decrease boarding times,” Molina says. 

DART conducted a digital survey in 2023 collecting 4,200 responses from riders. Molina says riders wanted protection from the heat, rain and other weather. They also wanted better lighting. 

With the help of the University of Texas at Arlington students, Molina says DART was able to address most of riders’ needs. Right now, each new shelter costs about $50,000, but DART hopes that the price per unit will decrease once the shelters move to production.

South Dallas resident Montreal Edwards waits to catch a bus back home from the Social Security office on Malcolm X Boulevard. When he bused there yesterday, the office was closed. This was his second attempt at taking public transportation to the office in hopes of getting help — but the office was closed again.

“I have spent a lot of money with DART, so it’s a good thing that now they’re trying to make the bus stops better,” Edwards says. 

Edwards really likes the digital screen letting him know when his bus is about to arrive. He wishes the overhangs were just a little bit longer to give people more protection from rain and sun. 

DART plans to continue gathering feedback on the new shelters from riders through their GoPass app and QR codes placed inside each shelter’s bus route map.

Ogwa says she would like to see water fountains near the bus stops. She says Texas summers get extremely hot, and it would be nice to have a water fountain while waiting for the bus. 

Riders can expect to start seeing new shelters along DART bus routes starting in late 2025.