CARTA’s network of bus shelters, now with solar-powered lighting, is growing fast

One of the worst things about using the Charleston area’s bus system — waiting at a bus stop with no shelter, exposed to the elements — is getting a lot better. The Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority is in the midst of a bus-shelter-construction boom, with the near-term goal of having shelters at 20 percent of CARTA’s bus stops. That would be 171 stops with shelters, 44 of which are expected to be installed this year. In addition, the new perforated steel shelters and the existing shelters are lighted, using solar panels on the shelter roofs. Daniel Brock, a spokesman for the authority, said the solar systems already installed have been working well.