Public Art in Transit Infrastructure and Hybrid-Electric Buses

Nashville Civic Design Center Case Study: Public Art in Transit Infrastructure and Hybrid-Electric Buses Art in Public Transit Infrastructure Public art is often integrated into public transportation to beautify transit infrastructure, but public transportation agencies have found that incorporating this element also reduces vandalism, improves community relations and elevates the traveler’s experience1 . As interest for incorporating public art into transit infrastructure (such as benches, bus shelters and bike racks) continues to grow, public transit agencies have endeavored to establish a set of guidelines for the process: • Involve artists in the project from the beginning and hear their innovative vision for the planning and design phases • Add art to existing transit infrastructure when possible • Customize the art to the history and culture of the community to establish the greatest degree of public approval

Bottlestop bus shelter, front perspective

• Place public art in areas that are most threatened by graffiti, etching or other vandalism • Incorporate both permanent and temporary installations • Include a public art professional and a community member on the artist selection board • Art created for marketing purposes is not “art” and thus should never be used in this context • Engage community agencies in the creation of public art • In addition to utilizing federal funds, encourage community groups, area businesses and individuals to make taxdeductible contributions

Examples of Public Art Bus Shelters Bottlestop--Lexington, KY • Designed by design competition winner Aaron Scales of local firm McKay Snyder Architects • Made from local materials--bottles of Ale 8 One ginger ale-that were donated by a local brewery • The glass and metal structure is 6.5’ x 18’ • Eco-friendly design comprised of recycled bottles and solarpowered lights at night

Bottlestop, side perspective

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Cura, F. (2001, August). Art on transit brings benefits beyond mere beauty. Passenger Transport. Retrieved from http://www.publicartonline.org.uk/resources/reports/repregeneration/artintransit.php Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art Transit - Alternative Bus Fleet Case Study • www.civicdesigncenter.org

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Houston Heights Bus Shelter--Houston, TX

Bus Shelter Temporary Installation--Indianapolis, IN

• Community association held bus shelter design competition • A graphic communications class at a local university began working with the association to design six bus shelter concepts that spoke to the history of Houston Heights

• Temporary installation of thousands of rose petals glued to the interior bus shelter walls

• Over 400 community members came together to vote for their favorite bus shelter design

• The smell of the roses lightens the daily commute for 2 days • Project budget: $3,700 • Funded by a grant awarded to the Indianapolis Cultural Development Commission by Lilly Endowment, Inc.

“Victorian Porches”--Winner of the competition Rose petal installation in bus shelter

Sandblasted Bus Shelter--Portland, OR • Bus shelter panels with graffiti are sandblasted into art • In Portland, 750 panels are scratched every year and it would cost $200 to replace each one • Rather than replacing the vandalized glass, the glass is sandblasted by an artist • Cost: $20 per panel • Savings: $100,000 a year

“The Bungalow Revisited”--Contestant

”Trees of the Heights”--Contestant

Leaf pattern designed by Seattle artist Carolyn Law

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art Transit - Alternative Bus Fleet Case Study • www.civicdesigncenter.org

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Transit Shelter Art--New Orleans, LA

Baseline Road Bus Shelters--Phoenix, AZ

• Local design competition with 127 artists yielded 14 winners • The shelter art will not be replaced for at least 3 years

• Phoenix commissioned a project to develop 13 bus shelters in a 4 mile stretch of road that reconciled the city’s agricultural past with its new residential landscape

• Cost: $1000 to print each winner’s print, $2500 per winner

• Bus shelter size: 120’ x 30’ • Materials: steel, fiberglass, concrete with steel inserts, seats, wind chimes, flowering vines • Cost: $286,000 (artist made), $1,100.000 (contractor made)

“Floral Lake Lanterns” bus shelter art designed by Morgana King

Green Roof Bus Shelter--San Francisco, CA • Designed by Richard Parker, founder of 450 Architects, a local sustainability architecture firm

Fiberglass roof panels with inserts depicting fruit, flowers and leaves

• Parker partnered with the San Francisco Parks Trust and is installing living roofs on all San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI) bus shelters • Mission: To increase public awareness about the benefits of green roofs, beautify public transit waiting areas and improve urban air quality • 450 Architects are tracking public comments through MTA’s website

First green roof shelter in front of the San Francisco Public Library

Cast tractor seat

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art Transit - Alternative Bus Fleet Case Study • www.civicdesigncenter.org

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Additional Examples of Public Art Bus Shelters

Bus shelter in Athens, GA that cost $9,160

Asheville, NC bus shelter designed using asset-based approach 2

Trolley motif in Seattle, WA

Monumental steel sculptural form in Mesa, AZ

A stainless steal and custom glass bus shelter in Santa Monica, CA 2

See website to review asset-based design principles: http://www.metropolismag.com/story/20081015/asset-based-design

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art Transit - Alternative Bus Fleet Case Study • www.civicdesigncenter.org

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Examples of Public Art Benches Great Mall Station--San Jose, CA • The designer, Ries Niemi, was commissioned to build 4 sculptural benches • Niemi drew inspiration from the history of the Great Mall, which was a Ford Motor Company factory from 1955 to 1981, to create stainless steel sculptural benches that resemble Ford engine parts

Tree Bench--Seattle, WA • Paul Sorey, the designer of Tree Bench, worked with the local community council in the planning phase • "The tree symbolizes the living, growing and diverse branches of human culture that come together to form a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts," said Sorey3 • The bench is shaped like a halved Douglas Fir and is based on the concept of the gossip chair • Materials: muted red mortar, concrete with stainless steel inlays • Size: 24’ x 24’ x 28” • Cost: $30,000

Sculptural bench at the Great Mall bus stop

Tree Bench with shadows

Colored Steel Benches--Bellevue, WA • Local artist, Karen Guzak, designed 8 colored steel benches to compliment the city’s new medians and sidewalks • The benches incorporate the street’s landscaping, seasonal themes and quotes

Detail of muted red mortar and concrete with stainless steel inlays

Colored steel bench created by Karen Guzak 3

Hackett, R. (2006, June 23). It’s the season for tree art in the Central Area. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved from http://www.seattlepi.com/visualart/275011_treeart23.html Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art Transit - Alternative Bus Fleet Case Study • www.civicdesigncenter.org

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Additional Examples of Public Art Benches

Examples of Hybrid-Electric or Electric Buses The Downtown Electric Shuttle--Chattanooga, TN • Established in 1992, the free Downtown Electric Shuttle service has recorded more than 11.3 million passenger trips • CARTA’s (Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority) electric buses have traveled more than 1.9 million miles, saving 65 tons of pollutants • Ridership: 1 million per year • Start-up funding: $16 million from the Federal Transit Administration to construct three garages and purchase 12 buses, $2 million from the Tennessee Valley Authority and $2 million from the Tennessee Department of Transportation • Annual operating cost: $900,000 • Two-thirds of the operating costs are funded by parking revenues

News and Record Bench in Greensboro, NC created by Jim Gallucci

• The 22’ electric bus carries 22 seated passengers and 8-10 standing passengers, the 31’ bus carries 25 seated passengers and 5-7 standing passengers • The 22’ to 31’ buses cost between $160,000 to $180,000 • Each bus has two or more lead acid batteries • DC (direct current propulsion system) buses can run on one battery while the depleted battery is charged (exchanging batteries takes 10-15 minute), but AC (alternating current propulsion system) buses must have fully charged batteries or wait while its batteries charge for 6-8 hours • Electric buses do not require tune-ups or oil changes and thus have lower maintenance costs than diesel buses • Vehicle range: 45-60 miles • Advanced Vehicles Systems, Inc. of Chattanooga manufactured the buses

Cloud Bench by local artist,Vivian Beer, in Portland, ME

CARTA’s Downtown Electric Shuttle

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art Transit - Alternative Bus Fleet Case Study • www.civicdesigncenter.org

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Ebus Fast Charge Electric Bus

ecolobus--Quebec, QC

• Vechicle Range: 45 miles • Size: 22’ long

• Cost of electric microbus project: $12.2 million • Start-up funding: $4.2 million over two years from the Quebec government, $2 million from the federal government, $5.6 million from Quebec City and $325,000 from the Réseau de transport de la capitale

• The 22’ bus carries 22 seated passengers and 10 standees • Cost: $295,000 plus taxes and shipping, battery is $58,000 • Charging the 90KW Fast-Charger battery takes 30 minutes • Life expectancy of the battery is 4000 cycles • Manufactured by Ebus of Downey, CA

• Low floors and wide sliding doors allow simultaneous boarding and dismounting • The microbuses hold up to 31 passengers • 62+ miles per charge • Projected cost: $120,615 • Projected cost (with shipping to Canada:): $400,000 • Tecnobus, an Italian company, manufactures ecolobus electric microbuses and fuel cell hybrid buses

Ebus Hybrid-Electric Bus • Vechicle Range: 150-250 miles • Size: 22’ long • The 22’ bus carries 22 seated passengers and some standees • Cost: $325,000 • Charging the battery-electric propulsion vehicle takes 30 minutes • Manufactured by Ebus of Downey, CA

ecolobus in Quebec City

ecolobus at bus stop in Quebec City

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art Transit - Alternative Bus Fleet Case Study • www.civicdesigncenter.org

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Additional Microbuses Manufactured by Tecnobus

Rheinbahn

Bus Etoile

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art Transit - Alternative Bus Fleet Case Study • www.civicdesigncenter.org

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