Something is fundamentally wrong with the waste collection process in the city. Like I said previously, this isn’t just a bus stop issue either.
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I have been loving this thread on trash cans. Not because I like full trash cans, but because it does seem like something everyone could like to see get better.
I wonder how hard it would actually be to crush this problem? Maybe bigger trash cans and pick up every day?
Anyone want to become clean trash can advocates?
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We could do our buses like this.
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BigBelly trash cans can supposedly fit 5X as much garbage per pickup. They’re not perfect, but they are popular for a reason.
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“At the same time, Streets Commissioner Williams said maintenance costs had turned out to be much higher than expected, in part because people vandalized the cans and stole handles and other parts to sell as scrap.”
So (some of) the dumps don’t work cause the vandals stole the handles? 
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Council talked about bringing back fares at yesterday’s meeting. I’m watching/listening to it now.
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Just finished watching it, here’s my TLDR:
Most of the council seems ready to bring back fares, even those who were very in favor of fare-free transit in years prior. Seems to be a recognition that it’s needed for budget reasons and safety/choice rider reasons. Good chance that fares will remain the same as pre-Covid and then maybe raised in future years, to limit too much change at once.
Possible soft launch of July 1st (apparently city staff has been prepping for this for a while) with enforcement not really starting for another 60-90 days. Lots of communication will happen with continuum of care providers, schools, colleges, and non-profits that focus on low-income folks.
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On the topic of the bus stop trash cans, here’s the deal. Earlier this year, Transit started work with Solid Waste Services (SWS) to pick up/empty the bins at stops all over the city. Each bus stop is set at some pickup frequency and the stops are placed on the existing trash routes that SWS runs.
Some bus stop cans are set to be picked up daily, weekly, or monthly. Most cans are scheduled monthly as is probably obvious. Over time, frequencies will be adjusted based on feedback and just observations when SWS gets to a stop. Not sure of the exact process of this but it should get figured out over time.
Until then, continue to SeeClickFix trash cans that need to be picked up as that is additional feedback to the system. It would be even faster if you reached out to transit staff directly, goraleigh@raleighnc.gov, as that would bypass some of the SeeClickFix issue “routing” that’s in place with the process.
Hope this gets better over time.
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Let’s talk about the North Hills to Downtown connection as it seems to have come back. When the R-Line first launched in 2009, there were other outcries for similar circulators, including North Hills but also The Village. Some residents wanted the R-Line to serve more places. There’s a bit of elitism here as the GoRaleigh bus system had routes going to these places already. The calls should be for more frequent service to more places, including North Hills.
So we have the #8 Six Forks route that serves downtown to North Hills today. It even goes up and down Six Forks for North Raleigh to North Hills connections.
Timetable shows hourly service from 6am-10pm 30 min during AM/PM rush hour. I would propose they fund GoRaleigh enough to get this to 15 min frequencies if people feel there is a need here.
Of course, lots of people have opinions but, for me, when it comes to route planning, you need to serve people who will use the bus at least multiple times per month. That puts the “mass” in mass transit. Criticisms against the R-Line not being used would still apply to some bus that goes from North Hills to DTR only. Few people live between there so why would they ride a bus somewhere close and then transfer? Driving is just so much easier.
Any talk of a NH to DTR circulator seems silly to me. Tell me where I’m wrong?
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They need to reroute this St Mary’s / Lassiter Mill route to run up Gleenwood to 5pts. Then Whitaker mill over to Iron works, then up Atlantic and then six Forks through N. Hills.
That includes way more points of interest to pick up riders, then going through all the ITB single family residential who drive their Land Rover SUVs.
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As somebody who now lives off the #8 north of North Hills, my two critiques of this route are the low frequencies outside of rush hour and that the last bus out of DT is at 10 pm. 30-minute frequencies all day and buses running at least until midnight would help a lot. Even better if it comes every 15 minutes.
The #6 bus to Crabtree until recently was kind of like that, but with the massively expanded service it’s now easily my favorite route in the Triangle. Coming back from work, I’ve used the #6 a few times to go shopping at Crabtree, and anything that lets me not deal with the crazy roads around the mall is a win for me. I would love to see the #8 get the same treatment.
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Don’t know what the plan is now, but pre-COVID the plan was for the #8 to be rerouted along Atlantic Ave and Six Forks Rd up to North Hills and run every 15 minutes all day. Another bus would continue up where the current #8 goes with 30-minute frequencies. That was supposed to start this year, but with all that’s happened, those plans are out of date. But I would love for that to happen as soon as possible. No matter how stroady that area is, more bus service is a step in the right direction.
That plan also included redoing the #16 to run from North Hills down Lassiter Mill and St. Mary’s (like the current #8), then down Oberlin to the Village District and then NC State’s Main and Centennial Campuses. Naturally, it would’ve had 15-minute frequencies.
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It’s hour long headways weekdays outside of AM/PM rush hour and all weekend. I’m as pro-bus as anyone but I will not ride a route with those frequencies because if I miss it I’m stuck on the side of Six Forks for 59 minutes… Don’t think they can get a good sense of potential ridership without more busses.
https://goraleigh.org/maps-schedules/GoRaleigh/8
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I agree with your main point, but a big reason it’s routed through there is for the hired help, who historically took the bus. Not sure how much ridership there is from those stops anymore
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Updated my comment. I overlooked that. 
I don’t think hired help lives in this neighborhood.
but they work there??
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The current route is quite direct but it’s on slow, low density residential streets. This route is likely literally a holdover from the days of streetcars. Moving it to commercial thoroughfares makes sense.
However, what you suggest has too much zigzagging, I’d say. Forget Glenwood and Whitaker. North Hills to Five Points isn’t a big enough origin-destination pair to be worth this much of a detour. Go via either Wake Forest or Capital, to Atlantic, and then to Six Forks.
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Well there it is. Fares are coming back, including for the R-Line.
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/NCRALEIGH/bulletins/3a2788f
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