Hartford resident Quan Stewart depends on the bus to get to work. He says the hardest part of the journey comes before he even boards.
Stewart uses a transit app to track the location of his bus. It's helpful, but imperfect — Stewart is never sure exactly when the bus will arrive because the app isn’t always accurate, he said.
“I feel like I got to rush over there,” he said. “Then I either see the bus leaving when they said I had two minutes to spare, or I would get there and wait five more minutes.”
If Stewart misses the bus during the week, it’s a 15-minute wait for the next one. On the weekend, it can be an hour before another one comes.
Waiting is inconvenient for many riders because of the lack of infrastructure at bus stops. Many don't have seating or shelter to protect people from the elements. Riders are exposed to snow and rain. They stand in the dark on the side of the road at night. Some stops are even missing a sign.
Stewart commutes daily along Park Street. His bus line runs east and west through the Parkville, Frog Hollow and South Green neighborhoods south of downtown. The route is considered a transit priority corridor, meaning it averages more than 1,000 riders each weekday, and connects a significant population with jobs.
But many stops along the route lack basic amenities. About three out of every four don't have shelters or seating, according to a 2021 analysis by the Capitol Region Council of Governments.
Conditions are even worse on another stretch in South Hartford. Bus shelters are almost non-existent along Franklin Avenue, one of the busiest corridors in the city, the analysis found.
Responsibility for maintaining bus stops falls primarily on cities and towns. But many lack the resources to keep them in good shape.
To address the problem, a state initiative called the Bus Stop Enhancement Program aims to make waiting for the bus safer and more comfortable. The plan is to install hundreds of new bus shelters, including in Hartford.
Those efforts will bring tangible improvements to some high-ridership areas. But records reviewed by Connecticut Public show they'll largely miss South Hartford, an area where residents are heavily dependent on public transit.
Of the stops getting upgrades this year, none are located along Franklin Avenue, the city’s busiest priority corridor.
Some improvements are planned along Park Street and the south end of Main Street, though state planners were forced to move some stops, scale back what was planned for others or skip locations entirely because of a lack of space, records show.
Owen Deutsch, a planning director in the city’s Department of Development Services, said he was surprised to learn Franklin Avenue was left out. Deutsch said he believed city officials wanted to consolidate some stops on the route and upgrade the remainder.
If no upgrades are planned, "I think that's something we'll need to look more into," Deutsch said.
“Hartford is the hub for much of the transit system in the region,” Deutsch said. “We deserve to have world class shelters.”
High need in Hartford
People throughout Hartford rely on the bus, but the need is arguably greatest in neighborhoods to the south, according to a 2021 Greater Hartford Mobility Study. It considered factors such as the percentage of seniors, children, households without a vehicle and people living below the poverty line.
South Hartford is home to the city's largest populations of Hispanic or Latino residents. In neighborhoods immediately south of downtown, known as South Green and Frog Hollow, more than half of all households don’t own a vehicle.
South Hartford also scored poorly for transit time to major job centers. Despite being in Hartford's urban core, the study found it would take around an hour by bus to reach most employment hubs.
Among riders, the lack of amenities at bus stops is a well-documented concern. Numerous customer surveys have revealed riders are unsatisfied.
Deutsch has a first-hand look at some of the problems that crop up. There's a bus stop outside the window of his office downtown.
“You see people yelling after buses all the time because they come and go without people knowing it,” he said. “The place that people are waiting for isn't the most convenient.”
Lack of space creates barriers
After two decades of studies calling for more bus shelters, the state launched the Bus Stop Enhancement Program in 2025.
Phase one will last four years and build about 600 shelters at the busiest bus stops statewide. Higher ridership means higher priority.
Tyler Roth, a transportation planner with the Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT), hopes the enhancements will improve rider experience.
“We want to make sure that they feel safe," Roth said. “We want to make sure that it’s accessible … that they feel comfort.”
The goal for this year is to build 150 shelters across Connecticut. Of that number, about 60 stops in Hartford are moving forward, according to state records.
But you can’t build a bus shelter if there isn’t enough public space. Sidewalks, driveways, utility lines and private property all create barriers.
In large cities, one such obstacle is securing right-of-way easements. Park Street’s sidewalks are relatively narrow, Deutsch said, making it difficult for the city to accommodate bus stop infrastructure.
Officials coordinate with property owners to adapt to those constraints. But if there isn't a solution, stops in need of upgrades are dropped from the priority list, Roth said.
“We look at the potential to relocate,” Roth said. “But if there’s no suitable location, and it’s not determined feasible … we could always come back to it.”
What’s coming — and what isn’t
In other parts of Hartford, improvements are on the horizon. Shelter installation will begin this summer at 21 stops along the Albany/Blue Hills corridor on the city's north side, Deutsch said.
“I think that's just where some of the greatest need was given the volumes and the lack of shelters,” Deutsch said. “It’s not to say that Blue Hills Avenue is more important than any other area of the city.”
While not part of the state project, 10 bus shelter upgrades along North Main Street and Windsor Avenue are in the design phase through Hartford’s streetscape improvement program. Shelter upgrades are also included in the city’s ongoing project along Farmington Avenue.
In South Hartford, eight stops on Park Street are still moving forward – but planning documents note potential space issues at three of them. As for why stops on Franklin Avenue aren't targeted, a DOT spokesperson said most weren’t busy enough.
Community benches fill the gap
In the absence of formal upgrades, residents have stepped in.
Members of Connecticut Urbanists, a safe streets advocacy group, have placed more than 30 benches at bus stops in the Hartford region. About half are in South Hartford neighborhoods.
“We've been intentional with where we're placing these benches,” said organizer Dimitris Koutoumbas, a transportation engineer and urban planning graduate student. “More on inbound stops going into the city center.”
The group won a small grant from the city in 2023 that funded construction of benches on Park Street and throughout Frog Hollow, he said.
The wooden benches take about an hour to install, and are meant to be a temporary, unofficial solution. The projects aren't held up by zoning or other constraints.
“We don’t see ourselves as wanting to take over DOT’s role,” Koutoumbas said, “We do think we are being helpful by supplementing their efforts.”
He said it's challenging for any city to maintain bus infrastructure on its own.
“A lot of cities are budget strapped right now,” he said, “essentially depending on grants and funds from [the] state and the federal government when it comes to capital improvements.”
For riders like Stewart, the bus system works, but it requires planning and patience. He says the city should install screens at bus stops that show real-time arrival information. Stewart pointed out that CTfastrak stations already have them.
Catching the bus now is a gamble, he said. But since his car broke down, Stewart doesn’t have another way to get to work or get his son to school.
“When I did have my car, I just chose not to take the bus at all,” Stewart said. “It’s just more reliable or accurate transportation in terms of making sure I get to where I need to be on time.”
