GoTriangle is the operator of regional public transit bus services in the Research Triangle region of North Carolina. GoTriangle is a member of the region-wide GoTransit system, operating limited-stop and express bus services in Wake, Durham, and Orange counties.
The agency was founded in 1989, and is officially known as the Research Triangle Regional Public Transportation Authority. Before the adoption of the current GoTriangle name in 2015, the agency was known as the Triangle Transit Authority and Triangle Transit. In , GoTriangle had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .
History
1989 to 2000
Founding as TTA The 1989 session of the North Carolina General Assembly enabled the creation of the Triangle Transit Authority as a regional public transportation authority serving Durham, Orange, and Wake counties. The new unit of local government was chartered by the NC Secretary of State on December 1, 1989.
1991 – the NC General Assembly, subject to County approvals, authorized Triangle Transit to levy a vehicle registration tax of up to $5 per registration. This tag tax finances the regional bus operations, vanpooling program, and planning program. 1992 – the Triangle Transit Authority (TTA) completed the Triangle Fixed Guideway Study, after securing a grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to study long-range regional public transportation for the three-county Triangle region (Durham, Orange, and Wake). Feb 1995 – TTA Board of Trustees adopted the Preliminary Recommendations for a Regional Transit Plan, after evaluating several alternatives and received feedback from land use and transportation professionals, elected officials and the public. Oct 1995 – TTA Board of Trustees adopted the recommendations for a Regional Transit Plan and subsequently incorporated into the region's two long-range transportation plans. This document guides regional transit planning efforts today. 1997 – the NC General Assembly, subject to County approvals, authorized Triangle Transit to levy a rental vehicle tax of up to 5% of gross receipts. This tax, effective January 1, 1998, will finance future capital projects. Jan 1998 – TTA, in cooperation with the FTA, initiated the Preliminary Engineering (PE) phase of project development and started preparing a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the proposed Regional Rail Transit System.
2000s to 2010s
Planning and developments In May 2001, the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) was prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and all applicable federal rules and regulations, which emphasized the project's environmental impacts, mitigation measures, and community involvement.Walsh, Brian. TTA Regional Rail Historical Development. 2005. In January 2003, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issued a Record of Decision (ROD), confirming that all required analyses, mitigation, and public involvement objectives had been met. Subsequently, in February 2003, the FTA approved TTA's request to progress to the Final Design phase, allowing for further refinement of project details.
By August 2005, TTA had completed the 100% level of design, finalizing plans for station locations and track alignments, and continued progressing toward the receipt of federal funds. However, in late 2007, facing increasing project costs and changes in federal New Starts cost-benefits formulas, Triangle Transit opted not to submit a New Starts application for FTA funding. This decision led to the suspension of the project as costs and future funding options were reexamined.
Triangle Transit was established to plan, finance, organize, and operate a public transportation system for the Research Triangle area, focusing on three main program areas: Regional bus service Vanpool service Regional transit planning
Since 1995, the cornerstone of Triangle Transit's long-term strategy involved a 28-mile rail corridor stretching from northeast Raleigh, through downtown Raleigh, Cary, and Research Triangle Park, to Durham using Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) technology. Proposals to extend this corridor by an additional 7 miles to Chapel Hill using light rail technology were indefinitely deferred in 2006 after the Federal Transit Administration declined funding for the project due to financial constraints and shifting federal priorities.
On March 17, 2008, after 15 years as Triangle Transit Authority, the Board of Trustees changed the agency's name and logo to Triangle Transit. Triangle Transit Board Chair Sig Hutchinson announced its new promise to the Triangle:
Triangle Transit improves our region’s quality of life by connecting people and places with reliable, safe, and easy-to-use travel choices that reduce congestion and energy use, save money, and promote sustainability, healthier lifestyles, and a more environmentally responsible community.
GoTriangle is governed by a thirteen-member Board of Trustees. Ten members are appointed by the region's principal municipalities and counties and three members are appointed by the North Carolina Secretary of Transportation.
Planning for a regional transit system began in the early 1990s under the guidance of the Triangle Transit Authority. In 1992, the Triangle Fixed Guideway Study was completed after securing a grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to study long-range regional public transportation for the three-county Triangle region (Durham, Orange, and Wake). The study examined regional economic growth opportunities and identified potential locations for growth, corridors that could connect these growth areas, and changes in land use that would need to take place to support transit. Recommendations from the plan were adopted by the TTA Board of Trustees in 1995, and were incorporated into the region's long-range transportation plans. By 1998, preliminary engineering and environmental planning of the project was underway. In 2003, the FTA issued a record of decision and allowed the project to move into final design.
TTA completed the 100% level of design and continued progressing toward the receipt of federal funds in 2005. In late 2007, due to rising project costs and a change in federal New Starts cost-benefits formulas, Triangle Transit elected not to submit a New Starts application for FTA funding. As a result, work on the regional rail system was suspended in order to reexamine costs and future funding options.
To analyze the future of regional rail in the Triangle, a partnership between TTA, Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO), Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC), NC Department of Transportation's Public Transportation Division (NCDOT), and Triangle J Council of Governments (TJCOG) jointly conducted The Transit Blueprint Technical Analysis Project. This 2007 effort was a collaboration between agencies to provide the technical basis for analyzing both future transit corridors and the planned or potential transit infrastructure investment within those corridors. The results of the Blueprint have been used to set priorities for major transit investments based on land use, travel market, and cost characteristics.
The Special Transit Advisory Commission (STAC), which met between May 2007 and April 2008, was a broad-based citizen group with 38 members from across the Research Triangle Region. The STAC was appointed by CAMPO and DCHC to assist in the joint development of a plan for a regional transit system and to craft recommendations for the transit component of their respective Long Range Transportation Plans (LRTPs), with a focus on major transit investments. The Commission presented their final report to the metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) at a joint meeting on May 21, 2008.
In 2009 the region's two planning organizations, CAMPO and DCHC, completed work on 2035 Long Range Transportation Plans. The plans include increased bus service and the addition of rail service. A coalition of transit, transportation, and environmental groups joined to support State House Bill 148, providing for future referendums for funding transit projects using voter-approved sales taxes. Triangle and Triad counties can hold referendums on a one-half cent sales tax for transit. Other counties are permitted to go to the voters for a one-quarter cent sales tax. With passage in the NC General Assembly in summer 2009, Governor Bev Perdue signed the bill into law in August 2009.
Currently, counties in the region are working with Triangle Transit, CAMPO and DCHC to finalize individual county plans, which will include enhanced transit options. County Commissions have the authority to call for a referendum when they are satisfied with the transit plans they have decided upon and are ready to go to the voters for funding. Durham County passed a one-half cent sales tax for transit in November 2011. The adopted bill also ties state funding into future projects.
In April 2012, a Notice of Intent (NOI) was published in the Federal Register indicating that the Federal Transit Administration and Triangle Transit intend to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Durham-Orange LRT project only. Scoping meetings for the D-O LRT project took place in May 2012 in order to bring together elected officials and regulatory agencies (the US Department of Transportation, US Environmental Protection Agency, US Army Corps of Engineers, and others). From their discussions, a Scoping Report was published and identified all human and natural environment aspects of the project that required additional analysis and consideration during the EIS phase.
Evaluation of the Wake Corridor and the Durham-Wake Corridor options continues in the background.
Three public meetings in November 2013 will show the alternatives carried forward for further study in the Environmental Impact Statement phase.
Proposed light rail Planning began on a new light rail project between Durham and Chapel Hill in 2013 as part of Durham and Orange County Transit Plans. The 17.7-mile light rail service connects the UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill to NCCU in Durham, serving major locations in the two regions.
The Environmental Impact Analysis for the Durham-Orange LRT project, from 2012 to 2016 with environmental monitoring, delineation of the potential project boundaries and alignment, and agency communication and coordination.
In July 2017, GoTriangle received approval from the Federal Transit Administration to proceed from initial “Project Development” to “New Starts Engineering,” which means GoTriangle will work closely with FTA over the next few years to finalize the project design. Entry into the engineering phase means our region will be on track to receive over $1 billion in federal investment, which accounts for 50 percent of the total project funding, which is funded by state funding and sale taxes.
Routes and major destinations GoTriangle is a regional bus service, offering a wide variety of transit and vanpool services around the Research Triangle. Operating service around the major cities of Durham, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Cary, and Apex. GoTriangle is a supporting agency of the Special Transit Advisory Commission's work to plan for the region's transit future. The STAC completed its work in May 2008 and has provided its recommendations to the area's two planning organizations: Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) and Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC MPO).
Route List Route TerminalsNotes100 GoRaleigh Station↔Regional Transit Center Route 100 serves RDU Airport at nights