Midtownt to Downtown Express Shuttle under consideration:
"Transportation staff have reviewed City Council’s request to provide an express transit service from Midtown to Downtown. The proposed route would provide stops at the Raleigh Convention Center (RCC) and the Museum of History and Museum of Natural Sciences. It would then operate non-stop to Wake Forest Road and St Albans Drive near Duke Raleigh Hospital and where multiple hotels provide accommodations for RCC visitors. The service would then proceed to Midtown where additional hotels would be served. This service would require two buses to operate with a frequency of every 30 minutes. The service would have a starting time of 7 AM and operate until 9 PM - 7 days per week, this service would cost approximately $735,000 annually. There is no funding currently programmed for this pilot service.
For a pilot project, GoRaleigh could utilize their contingency fleet of buses. This fleet consists of vehicles beyond their 12-year life cycle and retained in service ready status to be utilized for special events and emergency needs. If this pilot program was successful and Council wanted the service to continue, two additional buses would need to be procured. The cost of a new 30’ to 40’ heavy-duty transit bus would depend on the availability of federal funding and would require a lead time of 12-14 months for delivery. Due to the general-public nature of this service, it is likely that federal funds could be leveraged to fund a portion of the bus expense.
The Wake Transit Plan will fund direct service from downtown to midtown (although not express service) beginning in 2025. This service would be a high frequency network service operating every 15 minutes. GoRaleigh services currently exist along Wake Forest Road, Route 2 Falls of the Neuse, and to Midtown on the Route 8, Six Forks Road. Both services operate at a 30-minute frequency.
A new MIS (major investment study) is underway to explore options for the northern Wake Bus Rapid Transit corridor. The study area for this initiative includes Six Forks Road and Capital Boulevard to I-540. It is anticipated that this study will be completed by the end of FY2023."