Triangle Transit, which buses commuters between towns and cities in three counties, will expand its reach in October to take charge of Durham’s urban bus system.
A three-year contract approved Wednesday by Triangle Transit trustees and Monday by the city council will make the agency responsible for planning, marketing and management of DATA, the Durham Area Transit Authority.
DATA will still be the city’s bus service, with the Durham City Council paying its bills and retaining ownership of buses and bus stops. Triangle Transit will propose annual budgets and recommend improvements in bus service, but the city council will make the decisions.
Leaders in Wake, Durham and Orange counties have moved in recent years to coordinate routes, fares, marketing and technology on their city and university bus lines. They’re working together on long-range bus and light-rail plans, but there are no proposals to merge transit agencies.
After anxious DATA riders and drivers worried in recent months that Triangle Transit planned to slash local bus routes and schedules, city and Triangle Transit officials promised that no changes would be made during the first year.
Triangle Transit will oversee a private management firm hired, in a contract up for renewal this year, to manage DATA’s unionized drivers and mechanics. Six DATA administrative workers will retain their employment, either going to work for Triangle Transit or finding other jobs with the city of Durham.
Before Triangle Transit takes charge in October, DATA plans in August to launch a fare-free downtown circulator bus called the Bull City Connector. The route will link Duke University, Ninth Street, downtown Durham and the Golden Belt business center with buses every 15 to 20 minutes.
Bruce Siceloff reports on traffic and transportation. A News & Observer reporter and editor since 1976, he took over the 
