Utrecht covers 300 bus shelters with green roofs

By Fred Kuhlman • augustus 17th, 2019

 

Mainly made up of sedum plants, a total of 316 bus shelters have been covered in greenery in Utrecht. The bus shelters not only support the city’s biodiversity, such as honey bees and bumblebees, but they also help capture fine dust and store rainwater.

In 2018 the contract with JCDecaux ended and after a tender (City Outdoor Advisors acted as consultant) the new contract was awarded to RBL Outdoor. This Dutch outdoor company delivers high quality street furniture to various cities in the Netherlands in a joint effort with Clear Channel (this companies is responsible for advertising sales). In total approximately 500 new bus shelters have been installed. Part of the contract are also >150 free standing 6-sheet units (including more than 20 digital units) and 10 digital billboards.

RBL Outdoor has fitted its 316 bus stops in Utrecht — Holland’s fourth-largest city— with succulent-covered roofs, LED lighting, and bamboo benches. The green roofs are mainly composed of sedum plants, which require little maintenance. The roofs (of course also the rest of the bus shelters and advertising panels) are looked after by workers who drive around in electric vehicles.

The project has got attention from news media and cities around the world. Especially the attention for the bees became an interesting selling point.

The green bus stops are just one measure that Utrecht is taking to combat climate change. They’ve also pledged to have completely carbon-neutral transport by 2028 and they’ll introduce 55 electric buses into their fleet by the end of 2019. The province has also invested heavily in the repair of cycling paths and will conduct an innovative experiment in 2020. Solar panels installed along cycling paths within the province will be used to harvest energy, with an aim to see if the results merit expansion of the program.

 

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