ABQ Ride plans to add 55 new stops along Central Ave.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —

The city is planning to have a new kind of ABQ Ride bus stops along Central Avenue, designed to be more user-friendly.

Beginning at the end of this year, Albuquerque will be installing the first batch of what will eventually be 55 "smart shelter" stops designed to make passengers feel safer and more secure. The project will be completed next summer.

"These are different from the things you've seen in the past, where there's an encompassing structure," said Matthew Whelan, deputy chief administrator official for Albuquerque. "These are things that are there so people can sit and have a little bit of shade when the bus comes."

The new stops will also have solar-powered lightning, real-time arrival screens with audible updates, and trash cans to discourage littering.