Free Bus Stops (Or What a Difference a Million Dollars Makes)

Here in Bozeman we are getting new bus shelters with ultra sleek, modern solar panels and LED billboards -- no cost to the tax payer, zero, nada. Fully enclosed on three sides (when they finish installing the panels) and roofed, the bus stops are actually designed to protect riders from frigid winter winds and driving snow. KBZK TV reports:

Waiting for the bus in Bozeman could be getting safer and more comfortable. MTN's Keele Smith shows us what will make that happen.

First bus stop under construction out Huffine Lane. See the
link above to view the video.

Carrie Fabiano knows the routine of waiting for the bus as a regular rider.  

"Well the bus was running a little late and that 10 minutes felt like a lot. I mean I started getting frostbite," she said. 

Fabiano says, "I just think it's a matter of life and death sometimes. I've seen elderly people waiting out in the freezing temperatures and you just worry." 

That is part of the reason why Chandler Communication, out of Kalispell, is building bus shelters. They will be taking care of all the construction and maintenance at no cost to taxpayers.The shelters in Bozeman are unique - they are the first to have solar panels and LED billboards. Only two of these shelters have been built so far. Six more are in the works, including two more on Huffine, three in Bozeman and one in Belgrade.  

Transportation Director with the HRDC, Lee Hazelbaker said, "This is a huge step forward. This has been in the works for years and to finally see it come to fruition is just a great feeling." 

Riders agree.

"Being able to sit down is what's going to be good for me," Fabiano said. "I think it'll help because you can't even tell where some of the bus stops are. It's just a little sign hanging up on the side of the road it's not really a bus stop." 

Another regular bus rider, Amelia Denagy said, "It's going to be a lot more comfortable to ride the bus. It's not going to be such a hassle. It's just going to be a one stop deal, you can take a break, you don't have to freeze or get wet, just much better."

Bozeman weekday bus map.

Contrast this to the bus stops inside the Washington, DC Beltway serving the fiscally spoiled and coddled, profligate citizens of Arlington Virginia who, in the federal spending bubble, have the highest median family incomes nationwide. They are served by million dollar bus stops that don't even protect people from the elements. Their bus stops are financed primarily by the federal government, meaning you the taxpayer, and our children and grandchildren, who are being forced to assume the massive federal debt bomb. The spoiled brats pay not for their own waste. There are few clearer arguments for massive down sizing of federal government.