The Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority, operating as Wave Transit, is the public transportation operator for the metro area of

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the ...

. Sixteen regular routes are provided, with all but one running seven days per week. A free downtown shuttle also runs using road trolleys.

History

Created in 1974, the Wilmington Transit Authority (WTA) was implemented to provide public transportation to the citizens of the Wilmington area. In December 2002, the WTA adopted the name Wave, as well as a new logo and color scheme for the Authority. Rapid sprawl and rising traffic congestion throughout the region led the City of Wilmington and New Hanover County to enter into an historic agreement in June 2003. The city and county merged the WTA and New Hanover Transportation Services to form the Wilmington/New Hanover Transportation Agency (WNHTA). This agreement merged the respective organizations for one year, in order to provide oversight of both agencies under one public transportation authority. In July 2004 the WNHTA, the WTA and NHTS were dissolved and a new transportation authority was created. The merged entity officially became the Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority, but retained the branded name of Wave Transit. In an effort to better serve the community, in 2011, Wave Transit restructured all fixed routes in the region. The new routes were based on a modern transfer facility, Forden Station, which is centrally located within the service area. Expanded service required additional infrastructure, and a 36,000 square foot Wave Transit Operations Center was built to house a maintenance shop, bus garage, fueling station, and serve as the epicenter of service operation. The Operations Center opened in June 2015. The most recent improvement, a downtown multimodal transportation center, Padgett Station, replaced an open air transfer point on 2nd St in January 2020.

Route list

Fixed Route: Seahawk Shuttle: 704 Yellow Route - every 20 minutes 711 Grey Route - every 20 minutes 707 Red Express Route - every 20 minutes Port City Trolley: Route 203 - every 40 minutes RideMICRO: Brunswick-Downtown Connector - on-demand Pender - New Hanover Connector - on-demand Southern New Hanover County - on-demand Northern New Hanover County - on-demand

Stations

Forden Station

Forden Station is a

bus station A bus station or a bus interchange is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. While the term bus depot can also be used to refer to a bus station, it generally refers to a bus garage. A bus station is l ...

located in Wilmington's North College neighborhood and serves as a

bus terminus A bus terminus is a designated place where a bus or coach starts or ends its scheduled route. The terminus is the designated place that a timetable is timed from. Termini can be located at bus stations, interchanges, bus garages or bus stops. Te ...

for the Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority (Wave) and provides

intercity bus service An intercity bus service (North American English) or intercity coach service (British English and Commonwealth English), also called a long-distance, express, over-the-road, commercial, long-haul, or highway bus or coach service, is a public tr ...

via Amtrak Thruway and

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and pac ...

. At an estimated cost of $5.4 million, the facility opened on April 18, 2011. Amtrak Thruway service The Amtrak Thruway bus departs Wilmington at Forden Station and connects to train service at the Amtrak Station in Wilson, N.C. Daily rail service is available for travel to 20 stations between New York and Savannah, Ga., as well the Amtrak national network serving more than 500 stations in 46 states, the District of Columbia and three Canadian provinces. The ''Palmetto'' Train 89 (NYP – SAV) departs the Wilson Station at 2:22 p.m. and ''Palmetto'' Train 90 (SAV – NYP) departs the Wilson Station at 2:23 p.m. ATK-12-074. Passengers may book travel by calling 1-800-USA-RAIL. Tickets are also available on Amtrak.com and the mobile app. Amtrak tickets cannot be purchased at Forden Station.

Greyhound lines

Six daily routes with service throughout the contiguous United States currently operate out of Forden Station.

Padgett Station

Padgett Station is a multimodal transit facility that located in Wilmington's Upper Downtown neighborhood at 520 North 3rd St, and serves as a bus terminus for the Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority (Wave). Named after former Wilmington City Council member Laura W. Padgett, it was opened on January 18, 2020. It is the first phase of a larger multimodal transportation project. The station permanently replaced the Authority’s Downtown Transfer Station located at 2nd Street and Princess Street. The upgraded amenities at Padgett Station offer customers and visitors a safer, more convenient, and more accessible experience when utilizing public transportation services. The project was a collaborative effort between the City of Wilmington, the Wilmington Metropolitan Planning Organization (WMPO), and the Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority (Wave Transit).

References

External links

Cape Fear Public Transit in Wilmington, North Carolina – Greyhound
1974 establishments in North Carolina Bus transportation in North Carolina Transportation in New Hanover County, North Carolina Wilmington, North Carolina {{NorthCarolina-transport-stub