With not much fanfare, new bus shelters are starting to pop up everywhere. A moat of wood boards were placed around one on 16th for a while and then presto: a new sleek glass and metal bus shelter was revealed. Prince of Petworth has noticed. And DCist jumped on this months ago. But what I wondered this morning—after seeing more and more of them unveiled recently—did we really need new bus shelters? Especially in light of this new-yet not shocking—report and a bump in rider fees.

I would have preferred better buses and more of them. Apparently, these things will make money. And its benches, according to DDOT, were designed to prevent “long-term occupancy,” according to the Post which is code for homeless citizens will not find them comfortable enough for sleeping. Typical. They should have gone with the suggestion of making the benches heated!

It just seems like so much effort for so little return. Can DDOT now fix T Street between 16th and 15th Streets NW? Can it now make the buses run on time?