Chapel Hill Transit operates public

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

and

van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...

transportation services within the contiguous municipalities of

Chapel Hill Chapel Hill or Chapelhill may refer to: Places Antarctica *Chapel Hill (Antarctica) Australia * Chapel Hill, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane * Chapel Hill, South Australia, in the Mount Barker council area Canada *Chapel Hill, Ottawa, a neighbo ...

and Carrboro and the campus of the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which r ...

in the southeast corner of Orange County in the

Research Triangle The Research Triangle, or simply The Triangle, are both common nicknames for a metropolitan area in the Piedmont region of North Carolina in the United States, anchored by the cities of Raleigh and Durham and the town of Chapel Hill, home to ...

metropolitan region of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

. Chapel Hill Transit operates its fixed route system fare free due to a contractual agreement with the two towns and the university to share annual operating and capital costs. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .

History

In the early 1970s, during the administration of Chapel Hill Mayor

Howard Nathaniel Lee Howard Nathaniel Lee (born July 28, 1934) is an American politician who served as Mayor of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, from 1969 to 1975. He was the first African-American mayor elected in Chapel Hill, and the first African American to be electe ...

, the Public Transportation Study Committee was formed, consisting of representatives from the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, and UNC. The committee then received a Federal Urban Mass Transit Administration grant to examine the suitability of a permanent transit system. Town voters approved a $350,000 bond

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of ...

for local match for

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

and a $.10/$100 valuation

ad valorem tax An ''ad valorem'' tax (Latin for "according to value") is a tax whose amount is based on the value of a transaction or of property. It is typically imposed at the time of a transaction, as in the case of a sales tax or value-added tax (VAT). An ...

to support transit operations.Town of Chapel Hill, NC
Transportation
. Retrieved September 8, 2006. Chapel Hill Transit began operations in August 1974 as a department of the Town of Chapel Hill government. Prior to Chapel Hill Transit, the UNC Student Government operated a campus shuttle system from 1968 until 1974. The Transit Director reports to the Town Manager, who is responsible to the

Town Council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second t ...

. A citizen advisory committee, the Transportation Board, makes recommendations to the Town Council on transportation and traffic issues. A plan adopted by the Town Council in 1977 included a set of transportation goals which specifically encourage transit over automobile use in the central areas of Chapel Hill. Although the transit system is operated by the town of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and UNC are financial partners in the operations. System expenses are allocated based upon population. Carrboro began purchasing transit services in the

fiscal year A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ju ...

1977–1978 with revenue sharing funds. In the fall of 1980, Carrboro approved a $.10/$100 valuation ad valorem tax to pay for transit service. In fiscal year 1980–1981 the Carrboro contract first included the EZ Rider. In 1992, Chapel Hill Transit teamed up with the Triangle Clean Cities Coalition and Ebus, a California company that manufactures electric buses, to demonstrate a 22-passenger bus that promised cleaner air and reduced dependence on foreign fuels. This vehicle demonstration followed an earlier one arranged by the Public Transportation Division of the North Carolina Department of Transportation. In the earlier demonstration, a Transteq hybrid bus was transported from daily use in

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, and made available for test drives on the Chapel Hill Transit lot. In February 2006, K. Stephen Spade, a former Des Moines Metropolitan Transit Authority employee, was hired as the transportation director for the Town of Chapel Hill. In August 2006, Chapel Hill Transit announced that their buses will be equipped with GPS tracking devices, allowing the bus riders to check the arrival time of the buses using the

internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a ''internetworking, network of networks'' that consists ...

and their cell phone. The project was completed by NextBus Inc. Fourteen bus stops would also have digitized signs showing the estimated arrival times of buses. These signs were controversial, as the cost of installing them was almost $1 million. In September 2006, Chapel Hill Transit announced plans to begin purchasing hybrid buses. The town planned to buy as many as nineteen new buses: three hybrids, several extra-long and the rest standard size. In October 2006, the Chapel Hill Town Council approved the purchase of sixteen new Chapel Hill Transit buses at a cost of $5.8 million from

Gillig Gillig (formerly Gillig Brothers) is an American designer and manufacturer of buses. The company headquarters, along with its manufacturing operations, is located in Livermore, California (in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area) ...

Corp. Federal grants provided about $5.2 million, and the town provided approximately $600,000 in local funds. Three of these sixteen new buses run on diesel-electric drivetrains. The rest of the buses are mostly powered by Detroit Diesel series 50 engines. The buses, delivered in July 2007, expanded the system and replaced older buses. The town had an additional $1.7 million in federal funding which was sufficient to purchase four 60-foot articulated buses, each with two sections that allow them to flex in the middle. All of the purchased buses were low-floor buses with interior floors at curb level.

Fixed Route Service

The Chapel Hill Transit system consists of 24 weekday routes and 9 weekend routes. 5 of the weekday routes are considered express routes and are designated with an X, with the exception of route 420. The basic hours of operation are from early morning to evening. Connections to

GoTriangle The Research Triangle Regional Public Transportation Authority, known as GoTriangle (previously Triangle Transit and Triangle Transit Authority or TTA), provides regional bus service to the Research Triangle region of North Carolina in Wake, Durha ...

Orange County Transportation Authority The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) is the transportation planning commission for Orange County, California in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. OCTA is responsible for funding and implementing transit and capital projects for th ...

, and PART are available. Each fixed route vehicle is equipped with a bike rack mounted on the front of the bus with capacity for two bicycles. 3 "Safe Ride" routes operate on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings when the university is in session. A Senior Shuttle route operates weekdays making 7 stops each hour, in a loop, to destinations in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. The Senior Shuttle route uses alternative vehicles to accommodate passengers with restricted mobility. Chapel Hill Transit operates a "Tar Heel Express" special event shuttle service for UNC Football and Men's Basketball home games, in addition to special events. The shuttles provide continuous and fully accessible service, running every 10 to 15 minutes between the park and rides and

Kenan Memorial Stadium Kenan Memorial Stadium is a stadium located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and is the home field of the North Carolina Tar Heels. It is primarily used for football. The stadium opened in 1927 and holds 50,500 people. It is located near the cen ...

Dean E. Smith Center The Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center (commonly known as the Dean Smith Center, Smith Center, or the Dean Dome) is a multi-purpose arena in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, used primarily as the home for the University of North Carolina at Ch ...

. All fixed routes and special service routes are fare free. The Tar Heel Express charges a $3 one way and $5 round trip fee for rides. Chapel Hill Transit Shared Ride Van

Route List

Safe Ride Service

Tar Heel Express Shuttles

Discontinued Routes

Paratransit

A fare free "EZ Rider"

paratransit Paratransit is the term used in North America, also known by other names such as community transport ( UK) for transportation services that supplement fixed-route mass transit by providing individualized rides without fixed routes or timetables. ...

service provides a

demand-responsive transit Demand-responsive transport (DRT), also known as demand-responsive transit, demand-responsive service,
US National Trans ...

service for the

handicapped Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...

and elderly that are unable to use the regular fixed route service. The service operates from morning to evening on weekdays and on Saturdays. Advanced reservations and enrollment are required.

Park & Ride

Chapel Hill Transit operates 4 Park & Ride lots throughout Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Parking fees are $2/day and can be paid using an on-site meter or the Parkmobile app. Monthly and annual permits are available for $21/month and $250/year. The University of North Carolina operates 5 other Park & Ride lots. Permitting for these lots is administered through the university's Commuter Alternatives Program (CAP) Office.

UNC UNC is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to: Education * University of Northern California (disambiguation), which may refer to: ** University of Northern California (Santa Rosa), in Petaluma, California, United States ** University of Nor ...

's Park & Ride lots are for UNC Employees and Students only; no public/daily parking is available. UNC Park & Ride permits are honored in all Chapel Hill Transit Park & Ride lots.

Chapel Hill Transit Park & Ride Lots

UNC Park & Ride Lots

Bus Rapid Transit

Chapel Hill Transit is planning to build an 8.2 mile North-South

Bus Rapid Transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...

(NSBRT) to run from the Eubanks Road Park & Ride lot (a northern terminus) and Southern Village (the southern terminus) and points in between. The route follows NC 86 (MLK Jr. Blvd.) from the northern edge of Chapel Hill into downtown, then follows Columbia St through the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill, and continues along US 15-501 to Southern Village. The proposed route is based on the NS route which consistently has the highest ridership of all routes. Projected cost is $96-105.9 million with $50-75 million provided by federal funding, to commence passenger service in 2028 and projected 12,000 daily trips (in 2040) with an annual operating cost of $3.4 million. The NSBRT will run every 8 minutes during peak hours and every 10-20 minutes in off-peak hours. The existing NS bus route is expected to be replaced by the NSBRT. Along most of the corridor, NSBRT will operate in dedicated lanes.

Proposed BRT Stations

# Eubanks Park & Ride # Weaver Dairy Road # New Parkside # Northfield # Piney Mountain # Estes # Hillsborough # Franklin # Cameron (northbound) # Carrington Hall (northbound) # Pittsboro / Credit Union (southbound) # Manning / East # NC 54 # Culbreth # Southern Village Park & Ride

References

External links

Chapel Hill Transit
{{Chapel Hill-Carrboro Bus transportation in North Carolina Companies based in Chapel Hill-Carrboro, North Carolina 1974 establishments in North Carolina University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill