I have no idea. Riding the bus is for poor people. Which I am not.
🫨
3 Likes
Are they even going to use RUSBUS for intercity buses? Honestly that would make the most sense, but I was under the impression it was mostly planned for things like regional transit routes (eg airport, durham/chapel hill express, etc)
1 Like
Honestly I’d like to see some rationalization between NCDOT subsidized intercity buses to ENC and the (also NCDOT subsidized) Amtrak Thruway services to the same parts of the state.
Currently, there are three intercity routes that operate from Raleigh, and two Thruway routes that operate from Wilson. All of these routes are convoluted and duplicate each other.
If they could be converted into 5 distinct routes radiating from Raleigh, and run from RUSBUS so they can connect with Amtrak, the residents of NC would be much better served.
5 Likes
Great article. Tons of renderings and new information.
JK it’s WRAL
3 Likes
I’m still confused how the bus station will open in 14 months. Are you allowed to have public access to an active construction zone, while they build a 20+ story building above?
South station in Boston would like to have a word. I think that it’s allowable if the completed structure is sound and capable of protecting people from potential debris.
2 Likes
Are they building over South St. now?
WRAL - use it or not, you pay for it. . . the facility will “push thousands through”. . . what the hell? That sounds so negative.
2 Likes
I mean. That’s what you get from a TV station that apparently writes all its news from the viewpoint their target audience of an upper-middle class nuclear family living in a suburban McMansion on a cul-de-sac in the exurbs. 
Kinda surprised it’s not worse.
9 Likes
Yeah, my eyes rolled all the way into the back of my head when I heard that. WRAL is peak “preying on the fears of suburbanites.”
4 Likes
I think one of the main reasons for the redundancy on the Thruway routes is that you can’t book them without a transfer to rail. They recently did away with that requirement in California, so you can now book a bus-only ticket on one of the San Joaquins Thruway routes. I’d like to see that applied across the US.
Straying a little more off topic (sorry Leo), I’d really like to see NCDOT stray away from Greyhound for state-subsidized intercity bus services and develop a branded program like Virginia Breeze or CDOT’s Bustang. Key focus routes could be proposed rail routes to drum up ridership, and stops should be in downtowns instead of at random gas stations. I’m pretty sure you could get Sunway Charters to operate it, as they already operate both of the Thruway routes and three other state-subsidized routes. I have yet to ride anything on Sunway, but, honestly, anything is better than Greyhound. I did take a Virginia Breeze bus from DC to Richmond last year, and it’s probably the nicest coach bus I’ve ever ridden in. Super clean, pretty new, perfectly on time, and it even smelled nice.
Greyhound just does not have a good reputation right now. Until they get that sorted, it’s going to be really hard to pull new riders.
2 Likes
How could you not??? LOL
3 Likes
They haven’t put the WW1 dazzle camo on it to hide it from U-boats yet.
3 Likes
Honestly, not far from your suggestion, I would LOVE to see a Felipe Pantone mural in Raleigh, and that deck would make a good spot for one. Here’s his mural on the backside of Town Ballroom in Buffalo, NY:
13 Likes
NCDOT just paid $12.52m for the empty lot at 600 W Hargert St by Citrix for Raleigh Union Station. It will be used for boarding infrastructure in an effort to improve capacity and efficiency.
10 Likes
I just read that article. Greg Hatem bought the lot in 2001 for $392k! Talk about a good investment. Also why in the world was that lot valued at $12.5M?!
2 Likes
Hatem/Empire had over the years “proposed” to build something there, up to a 30 story tower. I say these “proposals” were cynical because it is blaringly obvious that this spot between 2 railroad tracks is useless, and because anybody paying attention knows that Empire has only ever completed a single new construction development (“The L Building”) which took a while to get off the ground, and required a partner to get done, and turned out to be somewhat of a debacle in the end.
So he probably knew from the beginning that the goal was to sell to NCDOT, and any proposals for construction were just to make the case that the land is more valuable than it actually is.
Shrewd investment, absolutely. Does not make me more impressed with Empire Properties though.
5 Likes
Seems like this is where they plan to put the new S-Line platform(s)?
3 Likes