In October 2019, Tolar Manufacturing Company was awarded a five-year contract to design, engineer, and fabricate up to 750 distinctive shelters varying in size from 12 to 20 feet in length for EMBARK, Central Oklahoma’s transportation provider. Tolar Manufacturing has delivered 69 shelters in less than nine months, helping to meet the agency’s ambitious 2019-2020 installation goal of 100 new shelters.

This first set of Orion bus shelters combine elements of Tolar Manufacturing’s Sunset and Euro style shelters and are uniquely built to specific EMBARK brand and build specifications. Each ADA-compliant standard EMBARK shelter is eight-feet in length and is supported by four Sunset extrusion posts, glass rails, and Euro extrusion triangular-shaped beam.

The Orion shelters sport a curved translucent tinted radius roof and weather-protecting rear and side walls, both of which exceed minimum wind and snow load requirements for the Oklahoma City region. Another important weather-critical element is an integrated gutter and perforated aluminum diverter sending debris to the back of the shelter for cleanliness and easy maintenance. Shelter amenities include an oversize 42-inch map display case, four-foot EMBARK branded benches, trash receptacles, and solar lighting for passenger safety and security. All the shelters in this first delivery include revenue-generating advertising kiosks managed by Tyler Media.

At EMBARK’s request, the Tolar team worked diligently to ensure the bus shelters could be installed easily and were designed utilizing modular components for easy replacement of parts as needed. Tolar, Tyler Media, and EMBARK are currently developing the production schedule to install additional new and upgraded bus shelters for the residents in and around central Oklahoma in fiscal year 2020-2021.