Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a $3.8 million project on Thursday that will add arrival time displays at bus stop shelters throughout the city.
At the announcement outside Kenwood Academy, near a stop on the popular 6 bus route, Emanuel unveiled the first of 150 displays that will be installed through March as part of the Digital Sign Project. The project aims to ease daily commutes and make buses run more smoothly.
Two other stops within the Hyde Park area, one at the intersection of South Cottage Grove Avenue and East 63rd Street and the other at South Hyde Park Blvd and East 56th Street, will also be installed in the coming months.
“You’re waiting and waiting and it’s been 15 minutes and then three of them arrive all back to back, one busy, three empty,” Emanuel said.
After the trial period, 250 more displays are expected to be installed by September 2012, according to the Office of the Mayor.
The signs are located to assist the majority of bus users, CTA President Forrest Claypool said. “The 400 signs will benefit 80 percent of the riders at our shelters.”
Three parties are sharing the cost of the $3.8 million project: $1.4 million will be provided by the CTA, $1.8 million by the Regional Transportation Authority, and $640,000 from a federal grant.
“All the resources are applied to where it matters most, where the commuter meets the system,” Emanuel said.
