Part of the plan to make San Francisco run exclusively on sunshine and eco-righteousness, the city plans on erecting 360 new Muni bus stops "that'll further the causes of both solar power and blanketed Wi-Fi at the same time." According to the September issue of Popular Mechanics, the stops will be kind of cool. Details are as follows:
Serving the Public: San Francisco’s high-tech bus stops will channel an estimated 43,000 kilowatt-hours per year into the city’s grid. Built-in Wi-Fi routers will help the city create a comprehensive wireless Internet network.Paying Its Way: Each bus stop costs about $30,000. City officials say Clear Channel Outdoor has an installation and maintenance contract with the SFMTA. The company foots the bill and gets saleable ad space.
Conserving Juice: The new shelters’ LED lights use 74.4 watts—four and a half times more efficient than the 336 watts used by the old shelters’ fluorescent lighting.
Woo hoo, right? But, the free Muni wifi won't be with us until 2013. And, by that time, we'll all be using the computers implanted in our eyeballs and brains, rendering today's laptop and wireless connectivity useless.
Thanks, periqueblend, for the tip.