CARY - Thanks to the federal government, fewer bus riders will have to stand in the rain or the baking sun as they await transportation.

The town has received federal dollars to add four prefabricated bus shelters at stops near the intersections of N. Harrison Avenue and Maynard Road and Wrenn Drive and Kildaire Farm Road.

The $95,000 is part of the federal stimulus package, which was approved to stimulate the nation's struggling economy. The money comes in addition to a $10,000 grant from the Kildaire Farm Rotary Club, which also will aid the construction of one of the shelters on Kildaire Farm Road.

Ridership on C-Tran, the town's bus system, has increased by 25 percent each of the past two years.

The upward trend is likely a sign of the times, says Ray Boylston, the town's transit services coordinator.

"A lot more people in Cary are using our fixed route system," he said. "That's probably indicative of the economy. People are looking to save money to get to work."

Town officials hope to keep C-Tran's numbers climbing even after the recession ends by using alternative methods of attracting riders.

Boylston said the addition of the shelters, which must be in place by April 1, under guidelines set forth by the Federal Transit Administration, would solve a short-term problem. "We have more people standing at bus stops in the rain and the bright sun in the summer, and we needed to provide greater amenities," he said.

But long-term, the new bus shelters could help drive more people to leave behind their cars in favor of public transit. The Cary Town Council approved a plan earlier this month to contract with Susan Page Harbage, a Chapel Hill artist who will add a visual element to the new bus shelters.

Harbage will be paid $30,000 for her work.

"Studies have been done at the national level that show that ridership increases when bus stops have certain amenities added to them," said Denise Dickens, the town's public art coordinator. "Aesthetics have a large part to do with that."

Dickens said the plan to add an artistic element to the bus shelters fits within the bounds of Cary's master plan for incorporating public art into capital projects. She said that the town's public art advisory board developed a series of goals for the bus shelter art, including that the design should be welcoming and fun.

But Dickens said Cary hadn't dictated to Harbage specific elements to be included in the design.

"That's why we're hiring her," Dickens said. "Because she's the artist.

"We're trying to make this design special to Cary. Whatever the artist comes up with will be distinctive to our community."

Harbage is expected to begin her work later this month. Dickens said town leaders probably would see a completed design sometime in November.