GREENSBORO, N.C. — Major changes could be coming to Greensboro’s public transit. Hundreds of thousands of people take city buses throughout the year. Now, the city is looking to improve the transit.
So, let’s dig into the proposal.
The City of Greensboro is pushing to become a car-optional city by 2045. Through these efforts, one GTA bus route has been greatly extended. Now, they are looking at what other routes could be next but they want to hear from the public first.
A new Greensboro transit bus route was launched at the beginning of March.
It's called Crossmax Purple — a service Michalea Dye uses often.
One of the things that stands out about this new route is the frequent stops, "not every bus comes every 15 minutes,” Dye shared.
Not only do the buses come every 15 minutes, but Crossmax Purple travels across the entire City of Greensboro.
“That's the only bus that actually does that,” Dye said.
It's something fellow rider Rachell Harris appreciates, "it gets my son to school faster. The wait is not as long,” Harris said.
Because of the more frequent stops and the extended coverage of the route, passengers can take 'one-seat trips.' This means they don't have to get on and off one bus, wait, and then transfer to another bus to reach their destination.
“With the kids, with the one way - there's no getting off and getting on, having to grab the kids’ bags and move on, it's just one straight ride,” Harris said.
This is only the first step in making Greensboro a 'car-optional city' according to Greensboro Transit Agency Director, Reginald Mason.
He said the Crossmax purple route was an answer to a survey taken by residents looking for more frequent stops and more coverage. He said the numbers show it's been a success.
“We're averaging over 8,500 customer trips per week,” Mason said.
However, to really make the Greensboro car-optional, GTA is asking for double the budget so that they can create more extended routes just like the Crossmax Purple route.
They're asking residents to take another survey after reviewing a draft of the new plan.
“There's a need for more buses, for more bus stops, more operators, and all that comes into this package,” Mason said.
Mason said one way to do this is by implementing a half-cent sales tax, something that wouldn't be put in place for a couple of years. He said starting the conversation now is crucial to meeting the cities’ goal of offering more transit services to all.
Greensboro Transit Agency wants to hear from you on what routes to expand.
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