History
The City of Durham assumed the operation of the local Duke Power bus system in 1991, naming it Durham Area Transit Authority (DATA). * 1891–1902 – Durham Street Railway Co. * 1902–1913 – Durham Traction Co. * 1913–1921 – Durham Traction Co. (Cities Service Co.) * 1921–1943 – Durham Public Service Co. (Cities Service Co.) * 1930 – streetcars discontinued * After 1943 – Duke Power Company In June 2011, DATA, along with GoTriangle began to redesign all of DATA's existing routes. This was due to various issues such as traffic congestion, dangerous bus stop placement, low ridership, decreased on-time performance, and customer location needs. By June 2012, the final plan was done, where the City of Durham agreed with the plan. The new bus routes started service on September 27th, 2014. In 2015, as part of the GoTransit naming scheme, DATA was renamed ''GoDurham''. Total ridership, for the fiscal year 2015 was almost 6.3 million ridership. The downtown terminal was relocated to a new transportation center (Durham Station) that also serves GoTriangle and Greyhound Lines buses on February 23, 2009. The building was designed by the Freelon group.Fares & Service Hours
As of October 2022, GoDurham is fare-free until June 2023. Every route, except route 20 departs Durham Station at the :30/:00 mark. Sometimes, buses depart at the :15/:45 mark. Service operates from 5:30 am to 12:30 am on Monday to Saturday and from 6:30 am to 9:30 pm on Sunday. Sunday-level service is operated during New Years, MLK Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving Day. There is no service on Christmas Day. Service operates on Christmas Eve, however, service ends at 7:30 pm.Fleet
The fixed-route system currently operates around 60 buses on 21 routes transporting more than 15,900 riders per week. The paratransit system includes 43 vans transporting clients to various places within the city and nearby Chapel Hill. GoDurham currently operatesCurrent Routes
The service list for GoDurham are as follows. These are the current routes as of October 2022. See GoDurham site for more information. Some services are operated under the Frequent Service Network program, which provides 15-minute service during daytime hours and 30-minute service during evenings and weekends on select routes.Former Routes
These routes have either been merged into one route or discontinued due to DATA's bus redesign on September 27th, 2014. Bold means these routes remained from the DATA takeover in 1991. However, were affected by the plan. The list will not mention any existing routes that were either cut/extended and routes suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Future
GoDurham Better Bus Project
The GoDurham Better Bus Project is a program created in 2019 by the City of Durham to plan and improve current bus stops, crosswalks, and roads to both make bus stops more comfortable for riders and to speed up GoDurham service. The 18-month plan, which has five projects plans to improve major corridor routes, more attention on both Holloway Street and Fayetteville Street bus lines. Currently, GoDurham's planned projects are shown here, planned to finish by 2023-2024: * Bus Access Project - Planned to add or improve sidewalks within 1/4 mile of all GoDurham bus stops to provide better access to bus stops. * Bus Speed and Reliability Project - Allows for the improvement of bus service by prioritizing buses in traffic, pavement markings, and better signage. * Durham Station Transit Area - This project will evaluate current streets in Downtown Durham taken by GoDurham buses and improving those streets to speed up service to/from Durham Station * Fayetteville Street Corridor - This project would allow major improvements around the Fayetteville Street line (5) like enhanced bus stops which both increase reliability and safety and to speed up the (5) route. * Holloway Street Corridor and Village Transit Center - This project will allow the same enhancements on the Holloway Street lines (3/3B/3C). This will also allow major upgrades on The Village Shopping Center.Durham Transit Plan
The Durham Transit Plan is the plan for GoDurham's long-term future bus improvements for the city by 2040. In April 2011, Durham County added a sales tax for public transit to allow this plan to happen. This plans allows for the improvement of bus stops, acquire electric vehicles, and increased 30 and 15-minute service. Durham was recently awarded $10.8 million in funding, which will allow GoDurham to advance with this plan.Current Progress
The program is currently in its middle phase. This has affected the system already. Current changes since November 2022 are: * Creating brand new bus terminals in The Streets at Southpoint GoTriangle 800and Glenview Station as part of their Bus Stop Improvement program. ** Improving 90 bus stops with benches and/or adding shelters. * Order six electric buses, two of them have since been delivered. * Increasing 30-minute service on overnights and Sundays on routes 1, 2, 4, 3, 5, 10, and 11. * Increasing 15-minute service or Frequent Service Network on routes 5, 3/3B/3C, 2/12/12B, and 11/11B.Future Progress
Over the upcoming years, the Durham Transit Plan will allow future service changes to be done. Some of which are major improvements. Funding has been approved for these services, which the changes could happen in a year. These changes would be: * Create a crosstown route connecting Duke/VA Hospitals and Duke Regional Hospital. (route 16) * Extend service on routes 9A/9B to midnight, thus route 9 service would only run partially in Saturday and only run all day on Sunday. * Improve 75 bus stops are scheduled to be improved, with 114 more being planned. * Increase frequency on route 3 and add midday service on GoTriangle's 405 route. * Microtransit services for the East and North Durham zones. These are the planned changes for the next five years. These are: * Increase all service to 30-minute frequency during weekdays, evening, and weekends * Create a crosstown route (route 17) between The Village /3B/3Cand NCCU /8* Increase route 4 and 9 service to Frequent Service Network program. ** Increase service to GoTriangle's 400 and 700 routes. ** Extend the route 4 to Danube/Herbon. * Help fund GoTriangle's commuter rail project. * Rebuild Durham Station, which will provide double the lanes, weather prevention improvements, and increased security. These other ideas are being considered to be added in the far future. These include: * Create a transit center in North Duke Crossing /9/9A/9B* Acquire more buses for increased service. * Relocate GoTriangle's Regional Transit Center. * Extend Chapel Hill Transit's D route to Patterson Place. * Provide ideas for North Durham /9/9A/9B/16and Chapel Hill Rd 0/10BTransit Corridors.References
External links
*{{commons category-inline, GoDurham