GoRaleigh Bus System, now and the future

Yes, and the bus merges back into the travel lane.
FAQ about BOS: Bus-on-shoulder - TransitWiki
TRB book about BOS: https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/22809/

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Over the years I have often wondered why GoRaleigh and GoTriangle don’t use Founders Drive, NCSU’s transit mall along Hillsborough. It is limited to eastbound only, and only exists from Dan Allen to Horne, and buses on Hillsborough would only be able to use it from the Founders Drive roundabout to Horne - but even then it would bypass two stoplights.

The best reason I can figure for that is that if they would gain much from it they’d probably be doing this by now.

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I’ve wondered the same thing myself. The only explanation i’ve come up with is that portion of NCSU’s bus route is a time stop for most if not all routes that use that stop. My guess is the raleigh/triangle routes passing through and ncsu routes sitting idol would interfere with each other.

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I mean one of the reasons I ended up negative on the Commuter Rail plan was that it was less frequent than the existing bus and most of the stations were giant park and rides.

Apparently the rail alignment in Durham makes it really hard to double track the necessary part for anything resembling frequency between Raleigh and Durham.

I don’t understand why GoTriangle doesn’t strike a deal with Amtrak/NCDOT similar to Sound Transit’s RailPlus program where you can pay local transit fares and fare media between Raleigh and Durham.

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Seems like this is what will end up happening when more infill stations come online, though seems like such a program could benefit a few people now.

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Also – does anyone feel as though the GoRaleigh buses have been extra dirty recently? Like, the inside/seats in particular. I want to complain to somebody but not sure where.

Whatever treatment Wolfline does is the way to go. All the buses are 7 years old and absolutely immaculate.

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We’ve certainly been hearing about the cleanliness issues here at the Transit Authority. Currently, the operator, RATPDev, cleans every bus, every day but at the END of the day. So if someone spills their drink on a seat in the morning, it will sit there all day until that bus goes home for the night.

The city is looking at retrofitting the buses with easier to clean seats (ie not those cloth seats) and there could be a future where there are midday “wipe downs”. I guess that could help but that’s not happening any time soon. They estimate it costing $700k to replace all the seats.

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i was watching a youtube video recently it may have been ‘not just bikes’ or another bike oriented content person…they showed ambulances diverging from traffic because the bike lanes were designed to accommodate them to bypass street congestion…i assume it was true. brt might bypass this but maybe further reason for just enhanced roadways and enhanced cycle lanes so the bad timing of a breakdown a bus can rather easily go around it.

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Yes, another reason to build bus lanes is to have an emergency vehicle bypass route:

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I just noticed these two events for next month and I think it would be great if we can get people to try and attend. Please pencil these in on your calendars.

A City in Motion: Traffic and Transportation Solutions

Raleigh is growing and its infrastructure is changing. Hear from national and state experts about the challenges of future growth and the importance of sustainability, emissions reduction, and responsible development.

Explore how transportation affects our daily lives through topics including:

  • How to create effective transportation networks
  • How greenways fit into our transportation system
  • How to create a system that allows for choices between cars and other modes of travel
  • Opportunities to keep improving our transit system

Wednesday, February 12 | 6-8 p.m.
Raleigh Union Station

Featured Speakers

  • Charles Brown, Founder and CEO, Equitable Cities
  • Julie White, Deputy Secretary of Multimodal Transportation, NCDOT

Wednesday, February 19 | 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Chavis Community Center

  • State of Raleigh Transportation
  • Panel Discussion with Regional Transportation Planners
  • Community Conversation
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will this be put on youtube in some way?

The next route to join GoRaleigh’s high-frequency network will be 11 Avent Ferry, effective February 9. Additionally, 33 Knightdale is getting weekend service and a weekday extension to the new Wake Tech East campus (and it’s being rebadged as the 33L). More details below.

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I know that this is technically the GoTriangle bus system but Oaks and Spokes is having an transit centered event! We will ride GoTriangle to Durham together from Downtown Raleigh and sharing a beverage before heading back. We’ll help you navigate the GoTransit system and setup your Umo app or Umo card. Umo cards can be gotten from GoRaleigh Station, where we’re meeting (branded for GoRaleigh) or Regional Transit Center (branded for GoTriangle, near RTP). This is the same day as DTRaleigh Coffee: so clearly you’re already downtown ;), stay downtown and then come with Oaks and Spokes for a beverage!

Details:
February 21, 2025 4:00 PM - 7:30 PM
GoRaleigh Station, 214 S Blount St, Raleigh, NC 27601, USA

Get comfortable with transit by riding with friends.

We’ll take the 4:10 DRX from GoRaleigh Station in Downtown Raleigh to GoDurham Station in Downtown Durham. From there, we’ll walk over to Ment Beverage in the American Tobacco campus and grab a drink. Then, we’ll take the 6:15 or 6:55 DRX bus back to Raleigh.

We recommend that you either walk to GoRaleigh station, if you can and that makes sense for you, or lock your bike up in a visible area in Downtown Raleigh. There are only two spots for bikes on the bus and we don’t want to take those spaces away from anyone who may need it.

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I love this idea. A lot of people, myself included, learn better by doing. By doing it with others helps people learn by doing in a comfortable way. Again, what a great idea!!!

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I had a Durham day a few weeks ago when a few of my friends rode the bus to the Duke Gardens from Downtown Raleigh and it was a super fun time. It was a friend who is transit dependent in North Raleigh and has felt isolated because of that. As well as a shared friend who had never ridden a city bus before.

Riding buses with friends is super fun!

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Think all the Go-entities now support the Transit app for an added layer of route planning and monitoring of bus location and stops beyond Umo.

I use Umo to display my Senior Pass QR code for the bus reader. But use Transit for route planning options and tracking progress.

Graphics are very good, location services accurate and current, soft questions served up along the way as to stop/bus conditions. Quick to answer and easy to dismiss if busy.

Go Raleigh upgraded me to the “Royal” level for free when I began using it. Avatar, etc. adds to the game-ification experience.

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I think you’re right. I use the plastic card and Google Maps for route planning with occasional GoRaleighLive.org for real-time, if I distrust what Google is telling me.

If I use my phone, then I feel like I’m legally liable to keep my phone charged which stresses me out a little bit and I just prefer collecting plastic cards as I travel :slight_smile:

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Google Maps is surprisingly good for route planning and bus locations/progress if the Transit option is selected for Directions.

Transit is just so much cleaner for graphics, offers more options (if willing to walk), and more precise with locations.

But then it is tracking onboard users (like me) for enhanced location services and smooths the progress with more frequent updates than Google’s update leaps.

Plastic is good. Always works.

This conversation reminds me that I want to do a “All The Transit Tech” blog post for Raleigh. Can you all help me curate a list? What I want to write about are the many ways to use your phone/Internet to do things like route planning and that we’re now at a point where we have options.

So with that, what am I missing from this list?

GoRaleighlive.org for the browsers
Google maps anywhere
Umo app for :robot:/:apple:
Transit app for :robot:/:apple:
MicroLink for :robot:/:apple:

I need to confirm Apple maps but maybe someone can just try it?

There’s also the text messaging service where you can text a bus stop number and it replies with the expected arrival time.

I guess for completeness I could include a PDF of the system map.

What else, how do you use tech to help you ride/plan public transit in Raleigh?

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The Apple Maps app works similar to Google Maps for route planning and monitoring progress once the “Transit” option is selected. Graphics are cleaner than Google but no aerial map base. I use both.

I have a GoRaleigh folder on my iPhone Files app that has PDF versions of the various routes I use showing routes and schedules.

Downloaded from the GoRaleigh site. Very handy for quick reference.

Here is the 16 (DTR <~> Crabtree) schedule/map:

Route 16 Crabtree.pdf (687.0 KB)