Agreed - and this is almost exactly what NCDOT and collaborators suggested two months ago in the FAST 2.0 study (also see my summary). Aside for how their proposal also makes room for buses running on the median, this is exactly what they suggested RDU to build:
See NCDOT’s memo about this concept to learn more.
This sounds reasonable to me:
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If there were more local transit users in that area (or if you could reasonably expect this in the next 5-10 years);
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If enough locals or commuters travel in paths where it’s more convenient to cut through RDU, or;
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If there was another reason that a bus between Brier Creek and Triangle Mobility Hub and central RTP makes sense but it’s worth a detour to RDU as opposed to making that a direct service.
But I don’t think those things are true, and I’m struggling to imagine that this will change drastically in the next five years. The residents of northern Morrisville and Brier Creek are relatively affluent and (based on how their homes and apartments are designed) heavily car-oriented. This is bad enough such that I’m not sure if these areas have existing customer bases for local bus services. I’d bet money that it’s a similar case regionally, too; otherwise, the GoTriangle NRX service would’ve come out of its covid suspension by now.
And as long as those truths hold, I don’t think a bus between Brier Creek and RTP via RDU makes sense. Given that, I think it just makes more sense to essentially bring RDU closer to I-40 - and what Owen and NCDOT are both saying would do exactly that.