Richmond Transit to Add Bus Stop Benches, Shelters

The region’s transit agency plans to install new benches and shelters at as many as 75 percent of bus stops systemwide.

1 minute read

October 19, 2022, 6:00 AM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Pulse bus rapid transit station with blue bus pulled in in Richmond, Virginia

Quidster4040 / Pulse station

The Greater Richmond Transit Company (GRTC) has released a plan to add benches and shelters to some of its 1,609 bus stops, only 21 percent of which currently have a bench. As Wyatt Gordon writes in Greater Greater Washington, “According to the newly passed Essential Infrastructure Plan, starting next summer GRTC will begin installing 160 shelters and 225 benches over the next five years.”

Gordon notes that the agency would only reach 75 percent coverage with benches or shelters in their “aspirational” scenario, while the “attainable” plan would provide infrastructure at 50 percent of the system’s stops. “One of the biggest barriers to building out benches and shelters across the region was lifted earlier this year when the Virginia Department of Transportation finally approved GRTC’s proposed shelter style after an inexplicable two year plus delay.”

The project was prompted by the superior infrastructure provided along the Pulse bus rapid transit line, which led transit riders to demand similar improvements across the entire system—as Gordon puts it, “raised the bar on what many of the region’s residents consider acceptable stop infrastructure.”

Like other systems seeking to boost lagging ridership and ease the financial burden for its riders, the GRTC system went fare-free in 2020 and has extended free fares through June 2025.

Tuesday, October 18, 2022 in Greater Greater Washington

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight