MARIBYRNONG City Council will install seven new bus shelters across municipality next month — five of which will be solar powered, in line with the council’s carbon neutral community action plan.
Maribyrnong mayor Michelle MacDonald said the solar-powered bus shelters were an innovative project aimed at reducing costs to the community while significantly decreasing carbon emissions.
“Solar power is the way of the future and is part of many new initiatives council will be implementing within the next five to 10 years to ensure a cleaner, greener City of Maribyrnong,” Cr MacDonald said.
The new solar-powered bus shelters will operate by means of a solar panel that creates enough power to light the shelter at night.
“The financial advantage of solar power is that there is no ongoing power cost,” Cr MacDonald said.
By utilising solar power, shelters may also be installed in remote locations where power mains are not available and running costs of the solar powered shelter are minimal.
“In many cases it is cheaper to erect a solar-powered shelter than a traditional electrically-powered shelter.”, she said.
The locations for the new bus shelters include Somerville Rd, Yarraville; Paisley St, Footscray; South Rd, Braybrook; (solar) in Churchill Ave (two solar), Braybrook; in Angliss St, Yarraville (solar); and in Sunshine Rd, West Footscray (solar).
“Solar powered lighting is a cost-effective solution to increasing commuter security and visibility at night compared to the costs associated with a traditional power connection. And it’s good for the environment and for our future.”
particularly in remote areas or in metropolitan areas without existing infrastructure for electricity.”
