Capital Area Transit (Raleigh)
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[edit] Overview
Raleigh CAT, or Capital Area Transit operates 37 bus routes and 1 trolley route to serve the city of Raleigh, North Carolina.
[edit] Public Transit History in Raleigh
[edit] Serving the City
Previous to the CAT bus system CP&L (now known as Progress Energy) provided public transit to the city.
It started in 1886 with mule-drawn vehicles, covering routes in 1 square mile of central Raleigh.
In 1891 the mule-drawn vehicle service came to an end and the electric street car service began. The electric street cars served several routes, covering about 2 square miles of Raleigh. Due to rapid advances in automotive technology at that time, in 1933 all street car service was ended and bus service began. It wasn't until the 1950s that ridership went down due to more people using their own private vehicles.
In the mid- to late-20th century CP&L stopped providing bus service to the city. This is when the CAT system was born.
When it first started, the city of Raleigh paid a private company to run the CAT bus system. It wasn't until the 1990s that the city began taking over.
[edit] The Raleigh Trolley history
The Raleigh Trolley was started to attract people to the Restaurants and Clubs in downtown Raleigh at night. The trolley line originally linked Moore Square to Glenwood South, but was changed to link Moore Square to the Progress Energy center for Performing Arts when they became sponsors of the trolley. In 2005, CAT purchased 2 new hybrid trolleys (first hybrid public transit vehicles ever to be used in North Carolina) to serve the current Raleigh Trolley line in downtown Raleigh.
[edit] CAT bus
[edit] Current service level
CATs current service level is based upon year 2 of the 5 year plan.
CAT currently is operating 18 fixed routes serving downtown from 5:30am-7:00pm Monday-Saturday and an additional 7 connector routes and 1 express route not serving downtown. A trolley route also serves downtown Thursday-Saturday 5:30pm-11:30pm.
During the hours of 4:30am-5:30am Monday-Saturday, 7:00pm-12:00am Monday-Saturday and 8:00am-8:00pm Sunday, the number of routes serving the city is reduced to anywhere from 3 to 17 routes depending on the day and time.
3 additional routes (1 serving downtown and 2 express from Park and Ride Lots) operate from 7:00am-12:00am during all the dates of the NC State Fair.
| 4:30AM-10AM | 10AM-3PM | 3PM-7PM | 7PM-12AM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekdays | 30 minutes+ | 60 minutes++ | 30 minutes+ | 60 minutes |
| 4:30AM-7PM | 7PM-12AM | |||
| Saturday | 60 minutes++ | 60 minutes | ||
| 8AM-8PM | ||||
| Sundays | 60 minutes | |||
| 5:30pm-11:30pm | ||||
| Trolley (TH-SA) | 15 minutes | |||
| 7:00am-12:00am | ||||
| State Fair | 20-30 minutes |
+ Some bus routes operate at a greater or lesser frequency during these times
++ Some bus routes operate at a greater frequency at these times. 70e does not operate during midday hours.
Because some bus routes are designed to serve areas unserved by the regular 26 CAT bus routes, during extended hours (before 5:30am and after 7:00pm M-SA and all day SU), there is not any time during the day where all 37 bus routes operate. Some bus routes may only operate during Early Mornings ONLY (4:30am-5:30am), Evenings ONLY(7:00pm-12:00am), and/or Sundays ONLY. Note that a small portion of the regular 26 CAT bus routes DO operate during extended hours.
[edit] CAT 5 year plan
In 2002, CAT spent $200,000 to hire consultants to come up with a 5 year plan to improve public transit in the city of Raleigh. At that time, most bus scheduels were 10 years out of date. It wasn't until FY 2006 that the City Council gave CAT the additional funding needed to begin implementing year 1 of the 5 year plan. At the start of FY 2007 the City Council gave CAT the additional funding need for year 2 of the 5 year plan (which took effect on bus routes in January, 2007). The City Council is yet to make a public announcement as to whether they will give CAT additional funding for year 3 of the 5 year plan in FY 2008.
[edit] CAT funding / subsidization
CAT is funded by the City of Raleigh. CAT's current budget is $13 million for FY 2007, up from $10 million in FY 2006. All but $5 million of the funding comes from the city. The increase in funding comes 100% from the city.
The city collects all the fare earned from the busses. It is estimated that each ride taken on the CAT bus costs the city $2.50, while bus fare is just $1.00.
[edit] CAT ridership
According to the Raleigh News & Observer, CAT ridership for FY 2006 was 4 million. According to the city budget FY 2006, the ridership levels on business days averages over 13,000 daily, up from 11,000 daily in September 2005 (when gas prices began to climb after Hurricane Katrina), and 8,000 daily in the year 2002.
Riders boarding a CAT bus in downtown Raleigh
[edit] The effects of terrorism on public transit
[edit] In Raleigh
There have been no serious terrorist threats on public transit in Raleigh's history.
[edit] Transit watch
Transit Watch is a new public awareness program started by the FTA that encourages people to be alert for terrorist activity on public transit (such as abandoned bags or suspicious people). In early 2006 CAT entered into the campaign.
[edit] Other public transit today in Raleigh
[edit] ART
ART, or Accessible Raleigh Transit, serves those living within 3/4 of a mile of a bus line, but due to disability are unable to use it. ART does this by paying for a portion of your taxi ride.
[edit] Amtrak
Amtrak provides 3 train routes serving Raleigh. Train lines provide direct service from Raleigh to as far as Florida, New York, and Charlotte, North Carolina.
[edit] CTRAN
CTRAN, otherwise known as Cary Transit, provides service to Elderly and Disabled Cary residents who need a ride to Raleigh Hospitals, in addition to regular bus service in Cary city limits.
[edit] DATA
DATA, otherwise know as Durham Area Transit Authority, provides 1 route stretching to Brier Creek in Raleigh, in addition to many bus routes serving Durham.
[edit] Greyhound/Carolina Trailways
Greyhound and partner Carolina Trailways provides bus lines from Raleigh to much of the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
[edit] RDU
RDU or Raleigh Durham International Airport, is the only place in Raleigh you can fly out of on a public plane. Public transit service to RDU is made possible through TTA.
[edit] TTA
TTA, otherwise know as Triangle Transit Authority, is a regional transit service, providing Raleigh with several routes to neighboring cities and RTP.
[edit] Wolfline
Wolfline provides almost a dozen routes additional to the CAT bus system serving just NCSU (North Carolina State University) and surrounding areas in west Raleigh.
[edit] Other Bus Lines
In the city of Raleigh, some other national and international bus lines that take riders along the East Coast, and too various locations in the South. Some of these are hispanic bus lines, while others are discount/low cost bus lines.
[edit] Sources
[edit] Websites
[edit] Documents
- CAT 5 year plan
- City Budget FY 2007
[edit] Other
- Raleigh City Museum - History of Transportation in Raleigh
