NCDOT's Public Transportation Division was created in 1974 by the N.C. General Assembly to foster the development of intercity, urban and rural (now referred to as "community") public transportation in North Carolina. It administers federal and state transportation grant programs; provides leadership and training opportunities to transit professionals; makes planning and technical assistance available in an effort to enrich transit services offered to North Carolina citizens; and prepares projections to meet future transit needs.

Urban and intercity buses are easily recognizable, but citizens are sometimes unaware of other public transportation services available in North Carolina. All of the state's 100 counties enjoy some form of public transportation, even in rural areas.

North Carolina's community, regional community, urban, regional urban and intercity transportation systems serve more than 50 million passengers each year. Along with rail, air and ferry service, they get North Carolinians where they want to go. Public transportation is here to serve, connecting people and places in North Carolina.

Transit Service Types

Five categories define North Carolina's public transportation: community, regional community, urban, regional urban and intercity:

• Community Transportation - Local transportation efforts formerly centered on assisting clients of human service agencies. Today, the vast majority of rural systems serve the general public as well as those clients. Citizens should call ahead for reservations, since most systems operate on a first-come, first-served basis; whereas, human service agencies prepay and reserve seats for a guaranteed number of passengers. Eighty-five transportation systems in North Carolina currently receive funds from the Community Transportation Program.
  
  
• Regional Community Transportation - Regional community transportation systems are composed of two or more contiguous counties providing coordinated/consolidated service. Although such systems are not new - with Choanoke Public Transportation Authority operating in Bertie, Halifax, Hertford and Northampton counties since 1977 - the NCDOT Board of Transportation is encouraging single-county systems to consider mergers to form more regional systems. In addition to the Choanoke Public Transportation Authority, other regional community transit systems are:
  • Craven Area Rural Transit System - Craven, Pamlico and Jones counties;
  • Inter-County Public Transportation Authority - Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Pasquotank and Perquimans counties;
  • Kerr Area Rural Transportation System - Franklin, Granville, Vance and Warren counties;
  • Regional Coordinated Area Transportation System - Montgomery and Randolph counties;
  • Tar River Transit - Edgecombe and Nash counties; and
  • Yadkin Valley Public Transportation - Davie, Stokes, Surry and Yadkin counties.
  
  
• Urban Transportation - The Charlotte Area Transit System is the largest of the 19 urban transit systems operating in North Carolina. Urban transit systems operate across the state, from locations such as Asheville and Hendersonville in the west to Jacksonville and Wilmington in the east. In addition, small urban systems are at work in Boone, Salisbury and Wilson. Consolidated urban-community transportation exists in five areas of the state. In those systems, one transportation system provides both urban and rural transportation within the county. They are:
  • G.A.T.E.W.A.Y. Transit in Goldsboro and Wayne County,
  • Piedmont Wagon Transit in Hickory and Catawba County,
  • Wave Transit in Wilmington and New Hanover County,
  • AppalCART in Boone and Watauga County and
  • Tar River Transit in Rocky Mount and Edgecombe and Nash counties. Because Tar River Transit serves two counties, it is also considered a regional community system, falling within multiple categories.
  
  
• Regional Urban Transportation - Regional urban transit systems currently operate in two areas of the state, with a third system to assume operation in mid-2008. These systems connect multiple municipalities and counties. They are:
  • Triangle Transit, based in Research Triangle Park, operating a fixed-route bus service that connects Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and the surrounding area;
  • Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation, based in Greensboro, operating fixed-route bus service connecting Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point, the surrounding area, and medical transportation to UNC Hospitals and Duke University Medical Center; and
  • Western Piedmont Regional Transit Authority, a third regional urban system, scheduled to begin operation mid-2008. It will consolidate four community systems, serving Alexander, Burke, Caldwell and Catawba counties, and the urban system based in Hickory.
  
  
• Intercity Transportation - Intercity bus service is one of a few remaining examples of privately owned and operated public transportation in North Carolina. Intercity buses serve many cities and towns throughout the state and provide connections to locations in neighboring states and throughout the United States and Canada. Greyhound/Carolina Trailways operates in North Carolina. However, community, urban and regional transportation systems are providing increasing intercity service in North Carolina. Examples of such systems are:
  • The twice daily route between Greensboro and Boone by the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation, and
  • The Asheville Transit System's route between Asheville and Black Mountain.

Federal, state and local government are partners in funding public transportation activities, with each contributing a portion of the costs. Relative funding proportions can vary from program to program. The federal-state-local partnership, along with farebox revenue, represents a funding patchwork for public transportation.

States vary greatly in their funding of public transportation. The nature and extent of funding, as well as the sources of funding, may differ considerably among the states. North Carolina's state funding comes primarily from motor fuel taxes and highway use taxes.

NCDOT's Public Transportation Division is expected to administer $73 million in state funds and $36 million in federal funds in the fiscal year ending June 2008.

The Financial Management Unit administers the state and federal funds channeled to NCDOT for public transit. In fiscal year 2007, the unit oversaw 177 separate contracts to the state's 100-plus urban, community and regional transportation systems.

For information on grant programs at work in North Carolina Click Here.

Most North Carolina transit systems may take advantage of the group-buying power of the N.C. Department of Administration's Division of Purchase and Contract. The process allows vans and buses and other items most commonly purchased by transit systems throughout the state to be competitively bid to obtain lower prices through volume discounts. The first-ever statewide term contract for buses was awarded in March 2007 and is set to expire Oct. 31, 2011.

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The goal of the Safety and Training Program is to ensure the well-being of transit passengers, employees and the public, and the protection of property. Core elements of the program are driver/employee selection and training, drug and alcohol abuse awareness, vehicle maintenance, safety data acquisition/analysis and security. Program staff conduct on-site safety and drug/alcohol reviews and work to institute corrective action, when needed. Systems are encouraged to take a proactive approach in addressing safety issues. The Safety and Training Program supports these efforts by providing or sponsoring training that covers a broad range of topics, by recognizing systems that meet certain standards and by developing guidelines and best practices.

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