GoDurham

GoDurham

GoDurham's [2301] operating on Route 5
Formerly	Durham Area Transit Authority
Founded	January 1991
Headquarters	1907 Fay St, Durham, NC 27704
Locale	Durham, North Carolina
Service type	bus service, paratransit
Alliance	GoTriangle
Routes	21
Hubs	Durham Station Transportation Center
Fleet	58
Daily ridership	19,700 (weekdays, Q3 2024)[1]
Annual ridership	5,417,000 (2023)[2]
Fuel type	Diesel, Hybrid, & Electric
Operator	RATP Dev
Website	godurhamtransit.org

GoDurham, formerly Durham Area Transit Authority (DATA), is the public transit system serving Durham, North Carolina. It is currently operated by RATP Dev, managed by GoTriangle, and funded by the City of Durham. It was renamed under the consolidated GoTransit branding scheme for the Research Triangle region. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 5,417,000, or about 19,700 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024.

The City of Durham assumed the operation of the local Duke Power bus system in January 1991, naming it Durham Area Transit Authority (DATA).^[3][4]

• 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

To benefit more riders in safety and accessibility, DATA purchased 31 new Gillig Low Floors in 2002. The first bus arrived on April 16, 2003. The next day on April 17, the bus ran in revenue service on Route 7. The first bus ran through all routes to attract passengers of the fleet. These included LED destination signs, longer 40-foot buses, and automated announcements.^[5]

In 2005, DATA collaborated and funded with Capital Area Transit (now GoRaleigh) and Triangle Transit Authority (now GoTriangle) to create a route connecting the DATA Downtown Terminal with the Brier Creek Shopping Center in Raleigh. The new route, designated 15, began in November 2005.^[6]

The downtown terminal, located at Great Jones St and W Main St, was relocated to a new transportation center, named Durham Station. This also serves the GoTriangle and Greyhound Lines buses on February 22, 2009. It later served Megabus and FlixBus. The building was designed by the Freelon group.^[7] Triangle Transit decided to merge operations with DATA in 2010. As a result, DATA was dissolved, with Triangle Transit (now GoTriangle) handling management, planning, and marketing. The first major thing they did was in 2011, when DATA, along with GoTriangle began the Designing Better Bus Service project, a project offering the following improvements:

• Better on-time performance.
• Revamped routes, with new diversions.
• Improved bus stop and route alignment.

These revamped routes debuted in two phases. Phase One, which affected routes 1 (became 1/1A/1B/1N), 6 (became 6/6B), and 11 (became 11/11B) began on September 29, 2012. The rest of the routes were changed on January 9, 2013.^[8]

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.^[9] To plan enhance service, GoTriangle introduced GoDurham's Short-Range Transit Plan in April 2019.^[10] This plan intended to speed up service while the original 2017 and current revision of the Durham Transit Plan were being done. These improvements were:

• Further improve on-timer performance
• Simplify routes, removing variations to make them more direct.
• Introduce micro-transit on select areas.
• Add better service to reduce wait times, introducing the Frequent Service Network program.
• Add more direct, crosstown routes.

They offered the changes GoDurham can in the upcoming years. The plan was done by late 2019 and by January 2020, the new routes began running service. However, the implementation of the plan was slowed and eventually halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the pandemic, GoDurham service ran normally until March 20. Service was reduced, as service was scheduled to end at 9:30 pm, similar to Sundays. On March 22, fare collections were suspended, and rear-door boarding was allowed. However, on March 30, GoDurham severely reduced service as operators start to drop. The following service changes included reductions of service to hourly or every 2 hours.

In April, bus capacity was reduced to 16 passengers max. Seats were taped off from buses to prioritize social distancing. However, in May, they reduced service to a modified Sunday schedule. This took effect on May 4. This was short-lived as on May 18, some service was restored. By June 29, GoDurham restored all bus service back to pre-COVID service patterns. In October 2020, GoDurham expanded service with the Short-Range Transit Plan, adding 15-minute service to Fayetteville St and adding better weekday evening and weekend service to various routes.

On June 29, 2021, service was reduced due to another operator shortage. The following service reductions included, reversing the improvements and suspending certain routes. However, in late 2021, GoDurham slowly restoring service again, adding the 5K and 10B routes back.^[11]

During 2022, further service restorations occurred. To provide lost service to Croasdaile Crossings previously served by the 1 route, on February 1, 2022, route 6 service was extended to serve Croasdaile Crossings during weekday daytime hours.^[12] Major restorations occurred on October 28, when GoDurham restored 15-minute service, discontinuing the 5K route again, minor changes to the 11/11B routes, and restoring the 12B route, servicing RTP.

Service started to be mostly restored in February 13, full service returned on route 7.^[13] On June 24, routes 2, 8, 11/11B were restored to full frequencies and service. In October, GoDurham plans to get full service restored by early 2024.^[14] On November 11, routes 1 and 4 will have restored overnight service, Frequent Service Network on route 5 will be active on Saturdays, and 10/10B will have expanded service.^[15] Service was restored to January 2020 levels with the service changes on routes 1/6/12/12B on January 27th, 2024. Route 1 was interlined with route 6, route 6 was restored to 30 minute frequencies, and 12/12B service runs to Saturday.^[16]

GoDurham started to expand service based on their transit plans with the April 27th service changes. This service expansion made all routes run until 12:30 am weekdays and 9:30 pm weekends with half-hourly service running at all times. This affected routes 6, 7, 8, 9A/9B, and 12/12B.

North Durham is the first to receive expansions by the Short-Range and Durham Transit Plans. On August 24th, service was adjusted on routes 1, 4, 6, and 9. Route 1 is realigned to Riverside High School on weekdays until 7 pm. Route 4 is extended to service Tom Wilkinson Road from North Duke Crossing. Route 6 was greatly extended along Hillandale Road, serving Duke/VA, Duke Regional Hospital, and Danube Ln/Hebron Rd. Route 9 is shortened to run to Duke Regional Hospital at all times. All routes run 30 minutes at all times. Transfers will be made in Duke Regional Hospital and Horton Road.^[17]

Currently GoDurham is fare-free until summer 2025.

GoDurham currently runs in three service patterns. Weekday daytime hours which runs from 5:30 am to 6:00 pm, weekday evening hours which runs from 6:00 pm to 12:30 am, and Sundays which runs from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm^[18] Sunday-level service is also operated during New Years, MLK Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving Day.^[18] There is no service on Christmas Day. Service operates on Christmas Eve, however, service ends after 7:30 pm.^[18]

History

DATA "stripe" livery from 2003 to 2009

DATA "color-arc" livery from 2009 to 2016

Current GoDurham Livery

The fleet livery changed throughout the years. The first ever livery, prior to 2003, had buses utilized blue stripes over a white body. However, with the introduction of Gillig Low Floors in 2003, buses used a white body with red, yellow, and blue stripes.

In 2010 with the delivery of new Gillig BRT Hybrids, a new livery was created, which featured a brighter color, arc scheme on the buses. As the result of the transition to GoDurham, the livery was changed into a gray body with blue triangles in different hues. Retrofitted buses, which are the buses before the rebranding retain the black trim. All buses delivered after 2017 lack any black trim. The slogan used for the buses was changed to Connecting the Bull City.

GoDurham's fixed-route service currently runs 58 vehicles, running on 21 routes. GoDurham currently operates Gillig Low Floor, Gillig BRT, and Gillig Low Floor Plus buses. They currently run diesel, hybrid and electric buses. As part of the clean-energy program, 20 Gillig BRT Hybrids were delivered to the city in 2009–2010.^[19] Bicycle racks are fitted to the front of all buses to increase efforts for public transit. All buses are equipped with Wi-Fi on board. USB ports were introduced with the 2018-2019 units. In 2019, GoDurham placed an order for six electric buses. Two of these buses were delivered on Earth Day 2021. The rest of the fleet arrived in 2023, to replace aging units.^[20][21] Further, in February 2024 it was announced that 18 more electric buses are to be received in the following two years.^[22] As of now, this is the current fleet as of August 2024.^[23]

Image	Year	Bus Name	Fleet Numbers	Notes
	2008	Gillig Low Floor 40' Diesel	801-806 Total: 6 units	Delivered in July 2008 Refurbished and repowered in FY 2016-2017
	2010	Gillig BRT HEV 40'	1001-1020, 1201-1204 Total: 23 units	Delivered in July 2010 and 2012 Repowered in 2018, refurbished in 2021. 1007, is unavailable due to an accident Expected to be retired ASAP due to maintenance issues
	2012
	2017	Gillig Low Floor 40' Diesel	1701-1712 Total: 12 units	Delivered by August 2017 Expected to be repowered in 2023.
	2018 2019		1801-1803, 1901-1904 Total: 7 units	First units delivered in April 2018 The rest delivered in July–September 2019 Ordered to replace 2003 units.
	2021		2103-2110 Total: 8 units	Delivered January 2022 Ordered to provide more service.
		Gillig Low Floor Plus EV 40'	2101-2102 Total: 2 units	2101-2102 delivered Earth Day 2021 Durham's first-ever electric bus fleet.
	2021
	2023		2301-2306 Total: 6 units	Second batch of electric buses ordered by GoDurham Delivered in September 2023.

Image	Year	Bus Model	Fleet Numbers	Notes
N/A	1992	OBI Orion I (01.507)	9201-9232 (32 units)	The first buses were purchased by DATA in 1992 to replace old Duke Power Company units. Originally numbered 101–131. Retired in 2007
N/A	2000 2001	Gillig Phantom 30' Diesel	0001-0008 0101-0103 (11 units)	Replaced some Orion I's Mainly ran until 2009, and remained in reserve until 2011. Retired in 2011
	2003	Gillig Low Floor 40' Diesel	0301-0331 (31 units)	Replaced all Orion I's. Repowered from DD50 to Cummins ISL, refurbished in 2010 Lacked GoDurham scheme Retired in 2022
	2005		0501 (1 unit)	Sole 2005 unit. Refurbished at an unknown year. Received GoDurham scheme Retired in 2020 or 2021

Here is the list of routes in the current system as of August 2024. All routes depart from Durham Station. Refer to the GoDurham site for more information.^[24] All GoDurham service runs 30 minutes at all times. Select routes run under the Frequent Service Network program, which provides 15 minute service during daytime hours.

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 six projects plans to improve major corridor routes, more attention on both Holloway Street and Fayetteville Street bus lines.^[31]

Currently, GoDurham's planned projects are shown here, expected to be planned and finished by 2023-2024:

• Bus Access Project^[32] - Will allow easier access to bus stops by adding sidewalks 1/4th mile from a GoDurham bus stop.
• Bus Speed and Reliability Project^[33] - Allows for the improvement of bus service by prioritizing buses in traffic, pavement markings, and better signage.
• Durham Station Transit Area^[34] - 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^[35] - This project would allow major improvements around Fayetteville Street like enhanced bus stops, better traffic, and safer access which will increase reliability, safety, and will speed up the route.
• Holloway Street Corridor and Village Transit Center^[36] - This project will follow the Fayetteville St Corridor goals with a additional transit center for The Village.
• Bus Stop Balancing Study - Will remove low ridership stops and modify existing stops to increase service reliability.^[37]

The Durham Transit Plan is the plan for GoDurham's long-term future bus improvements for the city by 2040.^[38] 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 service. Durham was recently awarded $10.8 million in funding, which will allow GoDurham to advance with this plan.^[21]

The program is currently in its expansion phase, which has started to affect the GoDurham Network. Current changes since August 2024 are:

• Creating brand new bus terminals in The Streets at Southpoint and Glenview Station as part of their Bus Stop Improvement program.^[39]
  • Improving 90 bus stops with benches and/or adding shelters.
• Received 8 new electric buses with another 18 expected to arrive within two years.^[16]
• Providing 30 minute service across the GoDurham network.^[16]
• Adding all or some 15-minute service/Frequent Service Network on routes 5, 3/3B/3C, 2/12/12B, 10/10B, & 11/11B.
• Micro transit on the East and North Durham Zones, now named Durham Connect
• Service Improvements on North Durham on routes 1, 4, 6, and 9.

In the summer of 2023, GoDurham and GoTriangle provided the draft for the new Short-Range Transit Plan., which is planned to improve the bus network in Durham from 2024 to 2028.^[40] Funding has been approved for these services, which the changes would happen between 2024 and 2028. These changes include:

• Add a crosstown route connecting NCCU and The Village Shopping Center
• Improve 75 bus stops are scheduled to be improved, with 114 more being planned.
• Increase frequency on route 3, 4, 9, and 10 routes to run 15-minute service weekdays and Saturdays.
• Increase all service to run every 30 minutes during weekdays, evening, and weekends.
• Create a transportation center in The Village Shopping Center
• Increased service on GoTriangle routes in Durham.

These other ideas are being considered to be added in the far future. These include:

• Create a transit center in North Duke Crossing [4/6/9]
• Acquire more buses for increased service.
• Extend Chapel Hill Transit's D route to Patterson Place.
• Provide ideas for North Durham [4/6/9] and Chapel Hill Road [10/10B] Transit Corridors.

• Media related to GoDurham at Wikimedia Commons
• Official webpage
• GoTransit
• Freelon Design for the Transportation Center Archived 2008-08-09 at the Wayback Machine
• Downtown Terminal Groundbreaking Announcement
• Roster