Projects
Bus Plan
The updated County Transit Plans continue to support a number of bus service expansions that have occurred since 2013, when the tax district revenues began to be collected.
Chapel Hill Transit, Durham County ACCESS, GoDurham, GoTriangle and OPT have plans to implement new bus services – including new routes and increased service frequency on existing routes and — and will maintain services that have already been added using the dedicated transit revenues.
These proposed service expansions are subject to change as the agencies evaluate existing services, study new potential services, and as they look at future service needs, ridership trends and public input.
In 2017, both GoTriangle, GoDurham and Chapel Hill Transit plan to begin short-range planning efforts to develop plans for new and revised services over the next five years. Likewise, OPT plans to update a 5-year plan previously adopted by the Orange County Commissioners.
- Chapel Hill Transit plans to add 6,400 service hours over the next two years in addition to the 6,100 annual service hours implemented since 2013, and to purchase 10 new vehicles using the dedicated transit revenues.
- Durham County ACCESS plans to provide over 8,000 additional trips by 2018, and to purchase seven new vehicles.
- GoDurham has added 24,350 additional service hours since 2013, and plans to purchase one additional vehicle on top of the five vehicles already purchased.
- GoTriangle plans to add 7,700 service hours over the next two years in addition to the 14,340 additional annual service hours implemented since 2013 (7,640 in Durham County; 6,700 in Orange County), and to purchase four additional vehicles using the dedicated transit revenues on top of the four vehicles already purchased.
- Orange Public Transportation plans to add 2,400 additional service hours over the next three years in addition to the 4,500 additional annual service hours implemented since 2013, and to purchase six additional vehicles.
Bus Rapid Transit
The North-South Bus Rapid Transit project is an 8.2-mile transit, bicycle and pedestrian project along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, South Columbia Street and US 15-501 South. The goals are to improve access, capacity, convenience and travel time for riders from the Eubanks Road park-and-ride lot to the Southern Village park-and-ride lot. The proposed bus rapid transit line will operate in a combination of dedicated lanes and mixed traffic providing frequent, reliable and convenient transit service. The program was accepted into the development phase of the Federal Transit Administration’s competitive Small Starts program, which provides a federal match for major transit projects that cost less than $300 million.
In spring 2018, after selecting consultant teams to lead the detailed design and environmental work, Chapel Hill Transit kicked off the process to develop 30 percent design of the project. The next steps were to complete 30 percent design and the environmental study required for federally funded projects under the National Environmental Policy Act, completed in November 2019.
On Feb. 12, 2020, the project received a medium rating from the Federal Transit Administration, which means the project is eligible for millions in federal funding through the New Starts grant program.
Find out more about the project and how to get involved at nsbrt.org.