Amtrak shelters in Albany

Several of these shelters were installed along the Amtrak station platform in Albany.

There are six trains a day - two Cascades trains in each direction, and the Coast Starlight in each direction. Albany's station, in Fiscal Year 2010, served 38,359 passengers (both boarding and alighting) - that's just 18 passengers per train, per day - and nine of them are getting on the train, and nine of them getting off the train.

These shelters are in addition to the station itself (a fully enclosed, heated, air conditioned, and staffed station with restroom facilities, and several covered, outdoor areas as well.) Surely, nine passengers - even if they all have two people accompanying them, plus two people for the nine people who'll get off the bus (total of 45) can be easily accommodated within the station.

One of these shelters is nearly 400 feet south of the station. One more is over 500 feet north of the station.

Most Amtrak trains, at little used intermediate stations, only open one or two doors near the center of the train. Even in the case of the Coast Starlight in which a door must be opened in both the sleeper car and coach car sections, the passengers will still wait inside or near the station until the train has arrived. The total time to be exposed to rain is just a minute or two.

And the biggest problem...notice the difference in height between the platform and the concrete pad of the shelter. There's no ADA access to this shelter.

But what's remarkable is how ideal this design is for a bus stop. Plenty of shelter, room for a bench or two, a garbage can, and there's even a place to put a full schedule board - or in windy areas, glass wind/rain shields. For aesthetic purposes, the roof can be altered or have a "station sign" (like old trolley stops or train stations) that prominently identify the bus stop. The roof could be wood instead of metal, or even glass. Decorative lighting adds a nice element plus provides light for security; a loud speaker (in this case controlled by the station master) could be used to announce bus arrivals or play music - I once suggested that TriMet create some type of a radio station that would provide various announcements about the transit system. Of course, conventional Transit Tracker or NextBus signs would work just as well here.