The Durham Area Transit Authority will hold public information sessions Wednesday and next week to outline proposed changes that would affect every DATA bus route. [1/12/12 update: DATA would shorten routes to make buses run on time, but there would be tradeoffs.  See today's story.]

Triangle Transit, which took over management of the DATA system in 2010, is proposing the changes to boost service to several locations and to improve on-time performance for buses that frequently run behind schedule.

The meetings will take place upstairs at the Durham Station transit center, 515 W. Pettigrew St.

* Today: Open house 2-3 p.m. and 4:30-6:30 p.m., with presentations at 3-4:30 p.m. and 6:30-8:30 p.m.
* Jan. 17: Open house 12-3p.m.
* Jan. 18: Open house 7-10 a.m.

The Durham City Council will consider the proposed route changes this spring.  Details are online at http://dbbs.gotriangle.org.

The Bull City Connector buses haven't attracted quite as many riders as City Hall hoped for, according to a first-year report prepared for the City Council's Thursday work session.

Management has ideas for improvement, though.

According to the report, the free service between Duke West Campus and the Golden Belt complex in East Durham was averaging 1,636 riders a day in August, after a full year's operation. The city's target was 2,025 a day.

Ridership exceeded its target after the first three months, then its rate of increase slowed. Still, there was a steady increase in people taking the bus.

A rider survey showed that the Connector had had trouble making its stops on time, which may have discouraged use. One identified cause was street blocking by commercial vehicles loading and unloading; city authorities intend to be stricter enforcing the loading rules.

Other improvements, possible in 2012, include more buses, route extensions – including one to NCCU – and traffic signals that give buses priority at getting through intersections.

The Tar Heel Express will provide service shuttle service on Sunday for the University of North Carolina men’s basketball game against Florida State.
Prices range from $2 to $5, depending on the route.
The ACC game is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Dean E. Smith Center.
Tar Heel Express shuttles will begin at 12:30 p.m. from the park-and-rides located at: the Friday Center, Southern Village, University Mall (next to Dillards) and Jones Ferry. Shuttles will also be available from the Carolina Coffee Shop located at 138 East Franklin Street. (Riders who drive uptown must find their own parking.)
The shuttles will provide continuous and fully accessible service, running every 10 to 15 minutes between the park-and-rides and the Dean E. Smith Center.  The shuttles will operate for 45 minutes following the game. 
Shuttles drop off and pick up on Bowles Drive in front of the Dean E. Smith Center.  Most shuttle rides are $5 for a round-trip or $3 for a one-way trip. Rides from the Carolina Coffee Shop are $2 one-way or $4 round-trip.
For additional information on the Tar Heel Express Shuttle, please visit  www.chtransit.org or call a customer service representative at (919) 969-4900.

Why was that bright green Triangle Transit bus traveling east on Interstate 40 -- through the middle of Tennessee?

N&O reporter Mandy Locke did a doubletake when she spotted the familiar-looking bus in an unfamiliar place last weekend on her way to the Nashville airport.

Brad Schulz of Triangle Transit says Locke saw one of TT's new 40-foot buses en route to the Triangle from their manufacturer, Gillig, in Hayward, California.

That's how new buses are delivered: somebody drives them across the country. It's about 2,800 miles from the Gillig factory to the Triangle Transit garage.

TT bought 23 30-foot Gillig buses last year to replace some of its antique Thomas buses (made not so far away in High Point). The agency is taking delivery this month on 12 40-footers, at around $330,000 apiece, that will go into operation in the next few weeks.

Besides being 10 feet longer and holding more riders, the new 40-footers also will have cushier seats.

Riders had complained that the seats on the 30-footers were "kind of rough on the rump," Schulz said. "We'll make sure we have more padding on all the new ones."

City buses will get all dressed up in panels created by 12 artists

Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker is spearheading a 10-year, $2.25 billion plan to put lots more buses on Wake County roads, and to start light-rail trains running from Cary to North Raleigh (see Feb. 7 story with reader comments and a blog post that has more details).

A half-cent sales tax and a car registration fee hike would be needed to pay for it.

Come to a public information session to learn details of the plan and to ask questions. It's Thursday, March 5, 6:30-7:30 p.m., in the Upchurch Municipal Building. Speakers include Karen Rindge, organizer of an advocacy group called Capital Area Friends of Transit.

A notice about the meeting says: ... [MORE]

Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker is pushing a 10-year Wake County transit plan that dovetails with long-term proposals to spread bus and rail service across the Triangle over the next quarter century.

The Capital Area and Durham Chapel Hill Carrboro metropolitan planning organization boards (made up of Triangle-area mayors, town council members and county commissioners) are expected at their February meetings to endorse 2035 long-range transportation plans that include multi-billion-dollar investment in new transit networks. (Here are links to the complete CAMPO and DCHC draft 2035 plans.)

Here's a transit timetable spelled out in the three combined plans:

First, more buses. Starting with 75 new buses in Wake County by 2013 and 300 across the region by 2025.

By 2019, the first light-rail trains are running from northwest Cary through downtown Raleigh to Spring Forest in North Raleigh (17 miles).

Across the region, more light rail comes on line by ... [MORE]

See photos of Triangle residents traveling by bus to the Presidential Inauguration in Washington, D.C..
Staff photos by News & Observer ... more

DATA has opened a park-and-ride lot at the Heritage Square shopping center for its bus service to the State Fair in Raleigh.