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
250px|thumb|right|GoTriangle, Average Daily Ridership, All Modes, 2003–2016
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. 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. 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. 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
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Route !! colspan="3" | Terminals
!Notes
|-
| style="background:#00ff00 ; color:black" align="center" |100
| GoRaleigh Station
!↔
|Regional Transit Center
|
- Route 100 serves RDU Airport at nights
- Serves Raleigh Union Station
|-
| style="background:#00ff00 ; color:black" align="center" |300
| Cary Station
! rowspan="2" |↔
| rowspan="2" |Raleigh Union Station
|
|-
| style="background:#808000 ; color:white" align="center" |305
| Downtown Apex
|
- Rush-hour service runs to Apex & Holly Springs
|-
| style="background:#ff8040 ; color:black" align="center" |310
| Cary Station
!↔
|Regional Transit Center
|
- Runs weekdays only
|-
| style="background:#808000 ; color:white" align="center" |400
| Chapel Hill
! rowspan="2" |↔
| rowspan="2" |Durham Station
| rowspan="2" |
- 400/405 runs 15-minute service between Durham and Chapel Hill during peak hours
- 400 runs 15-minute service during middays
|-
| style="background:#ff00ff; color:black" align="center" |405
| Jones Ferry Park & Ride<br /><small>Serves Chapel Hill</small>
|-
| style="background:#a9cdf1; color:black" align="center" |420
| Chapel Hill
! ↔
| Hillsborough
|
- Operated by Chapel Hill Transit
|-
| style="background:#000000 ; color:white" align="center" |700
| Durham Station
! rowspan="4" |↔
| rowspan="2" |Regional Transit Center
|
|-
| style="background:#008000 ; color:white" align="center" |800
| rowspan="2" | Chapel Hill
<small>Manning Drive</small>
|
|-
| style="background:#000000; color:white" align="center" |805
|The Streets at Southpoint
|
- Runs via Woodcroft Parkway
|-
| style="background:#fffbf0 ; color:black" align="center" |RDU
| Raleigh-Durham Int. Airport
|Regional Transit Center
|
- Runs until nights, service replaced by Route 100
|-
| style="background:#800000 ; color:white" align="center" |CRX
|Chapel Hill
! rowspan="3" |↔
| rowspan="2" |Raleigh Union Station
| rowspan="2" |
- DRX & CRX serves District Park & Ride during peak hours
- DRX runs on weekday daytime hours
- CRX runs weekday rush-hours only
|-
| style="background:#800000 ; color:white" align="center" |DRX
|Durham Station
|-
| style="background:#800080 ; color:white" align="center" |ODX
|Mebane<br /><small>Serves Hillsborough</small>
|Durham Station
|
- Serves Durham Tech Orange Campus
|-
| style="background:#005baa ; color:white" align="center" |WRX
|Wake Forest
!↔
|Triangle Town Center
|
- Hourly service begins November 9, 2025
- Serves Raleigh Union Station during peak hours
- Currently operated by GoRaleigh
|-
| style="background:#049684 ; color:white" align="center" |ZWX
|Zebulon
<small>Serves Wendell</small>
!↔
|Raleigh Union Station
|
- Hourly service begins November 9, 2025 Originally located in RTP. The center has a park and ride lot. The GoTriangle headquarters is also located adjescent to the terminal. In 2024, the agency received federal RAISE grant to build a new transit center near NC 54, Wilkinson Farm Road, and rail tracks owned by the North Carolina Railroad. The new development will focus on improved safety of patrons, connectivity to varied modes of transit, speed to reach destinations, and includes building multimodal facilities that support transit-oriented development.
This center is currently served by GoTriangle's 100, 700, and 800 routes at all times, GoTriangle's 310 route during weekdays, GoTriangle's RDU route during the day, and GoDurham's 12B route during weekdays. Discounted Lyft passes to the RTC were made available in 2019.
thumb|The Raleigh Union Station bus terminal in 2025
Raleigh Union Station Bus Facility
GoTriangle opened the Raleigh Union Bus Facility (or "RUS Bus") on August 3, 2025, after beginning construction in 2022.
The station is currently served by routes 300, 305, CRX, and DRX, and is served by route 100 from West Street. GoRaleigh's R-Line and route 9 also serve the station from West Street.
GoRaleigh
GoRaleigh is the transit agency serving Raleigh. Service operates from 4:30am–12:00am Monday-Saturdays, and roughly 5:00am–11:00pm during Sundays. They currently run 35 routes, separated into local routes, 'L' Circulator routes, and 'X' Express routes.
Most routes serve GoRaleigh Station, which is located near Moore Square. The terminal also serves GoTriangle's 100 route.
GoDurham
GoDurham is the transit system serving Durham. Service runs from 5:30 am–12:30 am during Mondays-Saturdays, and from 6:30 am–9:30 pm during Sundays. They operate 21 bus routes.
Almost all routes serve Durham Station, located near the Amtrak station. The terminal serves GoTriangle's 400 and 700 routes at all times and GoTriangle's 405, DRX, and ODX routes during peak hours only.
Chapel Hill Transit
Chapel Hill Transit is the transit system serving Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Service operates from 5 am to 1:15 am during weekdays, 8 am to 6:30 pm during Saturdays, and from 10:30 am to 11:30 pm during Sundays. They currently operate 20 routes, including express routes.
They serve the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, serving as a major transfer hub for all routes. The terminal serves GoTriangle's 400 and 800 routes at all times, GoTriangle's 805 route on weekdays, and GoTriangle's 405, 420, and CRX routes during peak hours only.
Chapel Hill is building an 8.2 mile Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) with a projected cost of $125 million to commence passenger service in 2020 with annual operating cost of $3.4 million.
GoCary/GoApex
GoCary is the transit system serving Cary and operates GoApex, which serves Apex. Service runs between 6 am to 10 pm between Mondays-Saturdays and 7 am to 9 pm. They operate 8 routes. They also service GoApex, which only runs one route. They also offer paratransit services.
All GoCary routes serve Cary Station, while GoApex Route 1 serves Downtown Apex. GoTriangle's 300 route serves Cary Station at all times and GoTriangle's 310 route during weekdays. Downtown Apex is served by GoTriangle's 305 route at all times
Orange Public Transportation
Orange Public Transportation is a transit program serving Hillsborough, Outer Chapel Hill, and Carrboro. They offer fixed-route bus service and paratransit services, as well as a Mobility On-Demand ridesharing service within Orange County and surrounding areas. They currently run three fixed-route circulator routes.
thumb|right
All routes serve Downtown Hillsborough. This area is served by GoTriangle's 405, 420, and ODX routes during peak hours only.
Rail transit planning
Durham–Orange Light Rail Transit
GoTriangle was planning a light rail line between the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and East Durham, traveling through Duke University and paralleling the North Carolina Railroad alignment through Durham and proceeding to North Carolina Central University (NCCU). The original project was estimated at $1.4 billion (in 2011). The final project was estimated to cost $2.5 billion (year of expenditure) or $141 million per mile with an annual operating cost of $28.7 million. The line would have had a connection to Amtrak via its station in Durham.
A final environmental impact statement was released by GoTriangle in February 2016, projecting 23,020 daily trips in 2040. The line was projected to begin construction in 2020 and be complete by 2028 but ultimately was discontinued in April 2019.
Commuter rail
After the failure of the Durham–Orange Light Rail project, GoTriangle began studying the possibility of instating a commuter rail service which would serve Durham, Raleigh, Cary, Morrisville, Research Triangle Park, and Garner, possibly as far as Clayton. In 2023, the Federal Transit Administration revealed that it would not be providing funds for rail construction, citing the downturn in transit utilization following the COVID-19 pandemic. Officials indicated that bus rapid transit projects would be encouraged to proceed for providing transit in the area.
References
External links
- Carpool and Vanpool Matching