Macon-Bibb County Transit Authority Receives Extraordinary Gift: Fifteen Bus Shelters

Public Information Officer
Macon-Bibb County Transit Authority
Macon, GA

It sounds like a joke or scam. Out of the blue a young, unknown man offers to present a transit authority with fifteen custom bus shelters totaling more than half-a-million dollars. Except, that really happened to the Macon-Bibb County Transit Authority (MTA) in Macon, Georgia, with a backstory as touching as the gift itself.

Galvanized by childhood memories of his impoverished, carless grandmother braving heat, cold, rain, snow, and even a purse snatcher on her daily commute to work at the local library, the man was determined to make life a little easier for bus riders in his adopted hometown.

So, millennial Eric Williams, Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce member and board member owner of Unified Defense, Truss, Inc. and Prince Service and Manufacturing, asked the Chamber to connect him with the Macon-Bibb County Transit Authority.

After a lengthy conversation, which included assurances that no strings were attached to the hefty donation, MTA CEO Craig Ross and Operations Manager Tony Woodard readily accepted the extraordinary offer and the Williams team set to work with MTA on a contemporary shelter design that was both sturdy and attractive—and on which art could be installed, as MTA is known to add.

Eric Williams explains, “We knew it needed to be simple, lightweight, and modular so that if an accident occurs or something breaks, we can replace a single piece and do it quickly instead of replacing the entire shelter. That means lower maintenance costs in the long run. And except for the metal roofing, we made everything, including the benches and the trash cans and their plastic liners. A local company, Ace Entities, LLC, gave us favorable pricing for the concrete slabs on which each shelter sits, and our field services crew did the installations, which was an additional bonus.”

Tony Woodard’s top priorities were ADA compliance and the functionality of each shelter, whether located on a roadway or sidewalk, so they’d be accessible and provide entrance from the left or right side, and wheelchair users could access the back of the shelters.

Eleven of the fifteen shelters have been installed around Macon, and MTA is working with the Georgia Department of Transportation on securing permits for the remaining four.

The Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting for the shelter project on October 8 at a shelter located in a busy shopping center. The gifted shelters provide a daily benefit for bus riders during their workday commute and to every other destination where MTA provides service.

And for Eric Williams, the bus shelters remain an enduring legacy of the indefatigable grandmother he loved and admired.