They have to fund other projects, that would take up a lot of the sales tax funds.
Saw two go by me yesterday that were completely empty. They’re gonna hafta amp up efforts to get ridership and awareness up or it’s doomed, I’m afraid.
They have to stand out from the regular GORaleigh buses. Need to them wrap them. Go back to the old wrap or a new design
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In fairness, it just relaunched this week, and (if I’m not mistaken) weekends are usually its biggest draw. But yeah, they definitely need to start marketing the thing as soon as possible or it may not survive.
I’m seeing a lot of folks here echo your sentiment, but I respectfully disagree (to an extent). I think the unique branding made it seem like it was completely separate from the GoRaleigh system. I remember my first time riding a bus in the Triangle (and probably like my third time ever riding a city bus) was the old R-Line, and I only did it because a) I’d heard it was free and b) I thought it was “better” than the GoRaleigh buses (and I still had that “eww city buses are gross” mentality). I don’t think I actually set foot on a GoRaleigh or GoTriangle bus for at least another couple of years, so the R-Line did nothing to convince me to try other services. And, by the way, those old R-Line branded buses kind of sucked and were super dark inside thanks to the wraps covering the windows (boooo dots).
If money were no object, here’s what I’d rather see instead of wrapped buses:
- Develop an R-Line logo that is distinct, yet still consistent with and easily integrated into the “GO” branding.
- Upgrade all R-Line stops with small, high-quality shelters that feature that branding and are distinct from other GoRaleigh shelters (including those silly red ones). If you really want to get pricey, have the signage be fixed structures with lighting, kind of like the BRT signs.
- Add wayfinding throughout downtown and inside key locations like the convention center and Union Station. This should really be our number one priority regardless of whether or not we create a new R-Line brand, because it’s cheap, relatively permanent, and easy to spot regardless of how long you’ve been here.
I don’t imagine the city would want to do this considering that their primary focus in terms of bus service over the next few years is going to be BRT, but who knows. So, if we’re going to go the cheaper route and do wraps, center it around the GoRaleigh branding, kind of like what GoTriangle did with their “airplane bus” (but hopefully with better artwork… and no dots):
(Man, something about this forum makes me really prone to run-on sentences.)
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From everyone’s comments, it seems a coordinated marketing effort would be helpful: inside and outside on parking decks, on the side of the bus, at hotels, banner signs, etc. Real-time arrival information would also be great (if that’s not already implemented). Perhaps even a time chart of time on the bus and time walking to different destinations.
I hope the R-Line is successful. I remember riding it for a First Friday a long while ago. Does anyone have photos of the r-line bus stops?
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I got this put in place on the rotating ads on the IKEs. Will it raise awareness? Baby steps, I guess.
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Rode the R-Line on Friday night for the first time since it was reinstated. While I like that they are avoiding the traffic snarls on Glenwood, I can’t help but wonder if it’s going to result in an “out of sight, out of mind” situation.
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For all the apartments and condos along West and Harrington it’s a lot more convenient. I hope people will take to it!
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I live above Publix and use it all the time. Extremely convenient!
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I’m glad that you are finding it working in its new location. I have paid particular attention to it as it passes by me when I’m walking. I’m not seeing riders on it. When I took it with a friend on Friday, we were the only passengers on the bus and it was First Friday with all sorts of foot traffic downtown.
Again, I hope that this new route works and that I’m wrong.
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The Mayor mentioned that the buses are almost always empty in the previous city council meeting and suggested considering a Downtown to NH bus route to the GoRaleigh representative.
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It may be that it’s still “new” enough that people who never experienced the R-Line in its former glory don’t know about it, and those of us who used to use it a lot have adapted to life without it and need to remember it’s an option now.
I fall into the second category. It’s still not yet coming to mind even though I’m aware of it. I miss the green buses that were a visual reminder of it’s existence.
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My biggest complaint has been that there seems to be some gaps in the service occasionally. The main selling point IMO is that you don’t really have to plan around it; there’s supposed to be 2 buses running at all times making for a maximum wait of about 15 minutes. At certain times of day, perhaps when drivers are being switched out, that wait has been closer to 30.
I think it will get more ridership with time. It’s had others on it probably 40% of the time I’ve taken it.
It’s also been extremely useful in getting back from bars/clubs downtown late at night. I took a huge group on it coming back from Legends at 2am a couple weeks ago and they loved it!
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Honestly, I walked over to my nearest stop on West beside the Publix. We stood on the west side of West St. and decided to take whichever bus came first since. We waited under 10 minutes and took the southbound bus toward CAM. I’m guessing that the bus we were on would have been the next northbound bus on West St.
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Here are the ridership numbers for GoRaleigh in May 2024. The R-Line had 1,222 passengers. It was technically a partial month but not by much. (started on May 5) I feel the numbers will remain low in the Summer (we’re not a summer town) but will pick up this Fall.
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While that number seems really low, I would have believed lower. When they pass me by, I look into them and never see a rider.
I’m I reading that right? It’s showing a pretty significant decrease in ridership based on just one year? Educate me.
Yeah, looks that way. The numbers show May 2024 vs May 2023 with last year showing higher passenger counts in that month.
Well, I can tell you that they lost me as a rider. Charging to mostly go just a few blocks among some downtown destinations is enough for me to just walk. I’m likely to only consider it during inclement weather and when I need to get somewhere for a ticketed event or a prior commitment, but those things aren’t all that common in my schedule.