Wake Transit Plan

Transit and Transportation
#1

All - annually there is a call to provide input on the Wake Transit plan. It’s critical that folks provide input to GoTriangle and GoRaleigh as they roll out these services. The public comment period will be open through March 3rd. All of the proposed FY20 (starts July 1, 2019) improvements can be referenced here: http://goforwardnc.org/county/wake-county/get-involved/

A few notes from the Draft Wake Transit FY2020 Work Plan PDF (at link above):

  • Mobile ticketing (pay with phone) and fare capping (prevents folks that pay on a ride by ride basis from paying more than monthly pass amount) are proposed for this FY
  • Transit center feasibility for N Hills (page 58) - will serve 3 high frequency routes (15 min service), 1 local route with 30 min service
  • Enhanced transfer points along key corridors (page 60 on) - will include free wifi, large shelters, bike racks, benches, etc)
  • Staffed transit center in East Raleigh (page 64)
  • RUS BUS will begin construction next FY (page 65)
  • Upgrades to the airport mentioned (page 176) (woefully insignificant IMO, should follow model of enhanced transfer points $300k investment vs. $50k)
  • Expansion of CNG buses for GoRaleigh fleet (page 187)
  • The City anticipates submitting the first BRT corridor to the Federal Transit Administration
    (FTA) for Small Starts Project Development in the second half of FY 2019

Take a moment to look over this! So much in this document but very important stuff. Providing public comment helps to shape the future of transit investments in our market.

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#2

Damn I love infrastructure! Exciting, thanks for the post.

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#3

Nice post! Bring on the RUS BUS tower!
Says under design now. Could start in 2020.

2019-02-12%2018_03_04-Raleigh%20Union%20Station%20Phase%20II_%20RUS%20Bus
2019-02-12 18_03_04-Raleigh Union Station Phase II_ RUS Bus.png715×936 953 KB

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#4

Mobile ticketing is such a big deal for making it easier for people to use transit. at least 10 times I have talked to a friend about taking the bus and they get tripped up by needing change and figuring that out.

Currently if you have a $5 bill you get change back in a future bus ticket credit. Nobody likes that.

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#5

Does anyone know if the public will be let in on the design part of this public project? Or an eta of when designs/renderings would be available?

#6

Anything requiring cash can basically count me out. Needing change, you might as well ask me for my baby teeth. I don’t even know what to do with that. It’s 2019, not 1975

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#7

This is pretty much the only reason I’ve never attempted to ride the bus, other than the R-Line. I don’t how to do it and if it involves having exact change then I’m out.

edit: How to Ride

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#8

If you are looking for info on the bus riding process then you might like this as well… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNeVpgwuykU

If having exact change was not an issue where would you ride the bus to?

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#9

Not sure how much I’d regularly use it. I used to live near a stop when I lived outside of downtown but now I live down here and would probably use it much less I’ve looked into for the occasional one-way trips like going out on the weekend knowing I’ll Uber home.

#10

For folks that live downtown, the GoTriangle Route 100 is a great way to get to the airport. Comes every 30 mins. We use it a lot for our inbound trip to airport and usually uber / lyft home. Nice to have the option! Route details here (not you will need to modify the drop down menu to select RDU airport and regional transit center as the direction of travel vs. Raleigh): https://gotriangle.org/maps-schedules/gotriangle/100

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#11

I use Route 100 as well. Why pay $25+ for an uber when the bus station is a 7 minute walk from my house. It’s also around 35ish minutes one way. That’s very reasonable.

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#12

I hear ya, in some ways living downtown means you don’t need much transit because why go anywhere else? I work downtown and live in East Raleigh, so I take the bus to and from work.
But, other surprisingly good routes I have taken are to:

-5 points and back

  • North Hills and back
  • Down Hillsborough street anywhere and back has loads of bus service
  • Downtown Cary and back, really good route for a trip to Bond Brothers Brewing.
  • The airport (already mentioned)
  • Durham (ride the shoulder)
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#13

I live downtown and walk to the GoRaleigh Station every morning to ride the DRX to work in Durham. I can’t wait until the bus station at Union Station is complete, it will definitely enhance the overall bus commuting experience and is much closer for me. Other than the select drivers who are not comfortable riding in the shoulder, my overall experience riding the bus daily for the past five years has been great and is improving with the increasing frequency of the routes.

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#14

I hope that it’s true that this building will also keep its warehouse facade like the Dillon did.

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#15

Hillsborough/Downtown and Crabtree. Kidding me? Not have to deal with parking at all. Sitting in traffic when you don’t have to focus on it is even nicer.

#16

This is the truth. It’s sort of like the “reduce” part of Reuse/Reduce/Recycle. Sometimes the best transit is the one that we don’t need. Even without robust transit options, I find myself using my personal car way less often because I live downtown. And, when I used my car, I am going shorter distances & less often, contributing less to the overall clogging of the roads than when I lived in a car dependent environment.
I went from driving upwards of 18,000 miles a year to just 5,000 a year based mostly on where I choose to live.

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#17

Perhaps tangential but this GoTriangle rideshare program looks new:
https://gotriangle.org/rideshare

On March 28, 2018, GoTriangle’s Board of Trustees authorized contracting with Enterprise to manage our vanpool program. Enterprise’s expertise in fleet management, award-winning customer service, and existing relationships with employers throughout the region are the perfect combination to grow GoTriangle’s vanpool program.

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#18

Whenever I go Out of town, I take the 100 to RDU , why spend money on a uber/lyft. They should extend their service to late evenings for people that land at RDU at later times, then catch a Uber if they need to.

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#19

I use it mainly to get to the RDU car rental area since I take weekend trips and RDU is the only place in Raleigh that offers very early morning car rental pick-ups and extended hours on the weekends. An almost 24 hour, 7 day a week car rental center in DTR would be nice to have in the future. I won’t miss DTR Enterprise.

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#20

would make it even Better if it was located at RUS…but I’m just dreaming. :relaxed:

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