Two Tecumseh-made solar-powered bus shelters are being installed in Sarnia and getting some early positive feedback.
Installation of the shelters produced by Tecumseh-based company Unconquered Sun began yesterday and is expected to wrap today.
Director of Sarnia Transit Jim Stevens says the two new shelters are being installed on Exmouth St. — a main artery through the city.
"They really stand out and they're a very clean looking, modern looking shelter so it's quite an improvement to our assets," says Stevens.
He says the shelters allow for advertising revenue opportunities with back-lighting and energy savings, but also expects to see maintenance cost savings.
"It's quite expensive when you have to bore underground and make connections to our shelters through the [power] grid that's sometimes across the street," says Stevens. "We see this as being quite a good initiative and we're looking forward to some really good results from it."
Stevens says the shelters cost the city about $8,500 each.
While there are other similar shelters offered by other companies, it seems the lighting of Unconquered Sun's product is a cut above.
"That is something that with this product our maintenance supervisor was really impressed with, so that's one of the reasons we're trying this new technology out," says Stevens.
The shelters are also being considered for purchase by transit services in Windsor and Toronto.
