San Francisco Unveils First Solar-Powered Bus Shelter
by Megan Treacy – ecogeek.com – June 3, 2009

The first of 1,100 planned solar-powered bus shelters has been unveiled in San Francisco. The other 1,099 will be installed across the city over the next four years.

The roof of the bus shelter is made up of thin-film solar panels embedded in a 40 percent post-industrial recycled polycarbonate material in a rolling wave shape. The structure of the shelter is made of recycled steel and other materials.

The solar roof powers an intercom, LED lighting and wireless routers, so that the bus shelters will become wireless hot spots around the city. The shelters will feed any excess energy generated by the solar panels to the city grid.

As Bend’s mass transit bus system (BAT – Bend Area Transit) continues to grow and update its bus stops they should consider incorporating solar and/or small wind in the design of bus shelters.

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TriMet, PGE study solar and wind power for transit mall
by Dylan Rivera, The Oregonian – September 24, 2008

TriMet and Portland General Electric are in talks about creating a 44-foot tall set of solar panels, coupled with a wind-power installation, at the southern terminus of the light rail line under construction in downtown Portland.

The transit agency’s board approved talks with Oregon’s largest utility this morning.

The proposal would use wind and solar generators to enhance the design of what would otherwise be a nondescript block, bounded by Southwest Jackson Street and Fifth and Sixth Avenues, near Portland State University. That’s where trains on the MAX light rail extension through downtown will turn around. The block will also house an electricity substation to provide energy for the light rail line.