That’s true, but I think we’re comparing apples to oranges at that point.
South Korea’s government has wanted to move a big fraction of their bureaucracy from Seoul to Sejong, a city built from scratch in the middle of historic Chungcheong, since at least 2003. This means the World University Games is a chance for their majority party to heavily invest in that move without having to fight right-wing coalitions in their supreme court (which was an issue that actually happened in 2005). The South Korean government’s been really hellbent on making Sejong a thing; I don’t think it’s fair to describe Raleigh or Washington as inept cheapskates when our motivations are fundamentally different.
Oh no, I’m not saying event-only buses are a bad idea in and of itself. I’m saying that it’s a hacky, lower-quality, and less hospitable way of moving people around when we’re competing against places where such a patchwork solution is not necessary to begin with. At a more practical level, the athletes, key staff members, and event volunteers would’ve probably been allowed onto those buses. But the media, guests, and the general public from all around the world? It’s likely that they’d be shit out of luck, especially since transit agencies are still missing about half of the bus drivers that they need for normal service.
(But I digress; we have a dedicated thread for future transportation needs in the Raleigh after all…)
Plus, the sad truth is that the transit solutions we have would simply not be enough. Lately, GoTriangle’s been thinking that commuter rail lines will start until the mid-2030s because it’s turning out to look more expensive than they thought (courtesy of bigger infrastructure needs, inflation, and supply chain fuckery). Even if that wasn’t an issue, no meaningfully frequent all-day/weekend transit services exist (or are even planned) between Athlete’s Villages and some key venues like the USA Baseball National Training Complex or venues in Greensboro.