GoDurham

GoDurham, formerly Durham Area Transit Authority (DATA), is the public transit system serving Durham, North Carolina. It is currently operated by First Transit, 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, the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of.

Early years
The City of Durham assumed the operation of the local Duke Power bus system in 1991, naming it Durham Area Transit Authority (DATA).
 * 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

DATA Upgrades
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.

Service Expansions
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.

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. 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.

DATA to GoDurham
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. To plan enhance service, GoTriangle introduced GoDurham's Short-Range Transit Plan in April 2019. 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.

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.

Restoration
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 restored service again. Such as the 5K and the 10B routes restored.

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. 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.

Service started to be mostly restored in February 13, full service returned on route 7. 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. 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.

Fares & Service Hours
Currently GoDurham is fare-free until summer 2024.

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 Sunday-level service is also operated during New Years, MLK Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving Day. There is no service on Christmas Day. Service operates on Christmas Eve, however, service ends after 7:30 pm.

Color Schemes
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.

Current Fleet
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. 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. On 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. Further, in February 2024 it was announced that 18 more electric buses are to be received in the following two years. As of now, this is the current fleet as of April 2024.

Current Routes
Here is the list of routes in the current system. Refer to the GoDurham site for more information. Service can run at 15 minute, half-hourly, or hourly depending on route and time. Select routes run under the Frequent Service Network program, which provides 15-minute service during daytime hours and 30-minute service during evenings and weekends.

GoDurham Better Bus Project
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.

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


 * Bus Access Project - Will allow easier access to bus stops by adding sidewalks 1/4th mile from a GoDurham bus stop.
 * Bus Speed and Reliability Project - Allows for the improvement of bus service by prioritizing buses in traffic, pavement markings, and better signage.
 * Durham Station Transit Area - 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 - 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 - This project will allow the same enhancements on Holloway Street. This will also allow major upgrades on The Village Shopping Center.
 * Bus Stop Balancing Study - Will remove low ridership stops and modify existing stops to increase service reliability.

Durham Transit Plan
The Durham Transit Plan is the plan for GoDurham's long-term future bus improvements for the city by 2040. 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 30 and 15-minute service. Durham was recently awarded $10.8 million in funding, which will allow GoDurham to advance with this plan.

Current Progress
The program is currently in its middle phase. This has affected the system already. Current changes since November 2022 are:


 * Creating brand new bus terminals in The Streets at Southpoint and Glenview Station as part of their Bus Stop Improvement program.
 * Improving 90 bus stops with benches and/or adding shelters.
 * Order six electric buses, two of them have since been delivered.
 * Increasing 30-minute service on overnights and Sundays on routes 1, 2, 4, 3, 5, 10, and 11.
 * Adding all or some 15-minute service or Frequent Service Network on routes 5, 3/3B/3C, 2/12/12B, and 11/11B.
 * Micro transit on the East and North Durham Zones, now named Durham Connect

2024-2028 Short Range Transit Plan
In the summer of 2023, GoDurham and GoTriangle provided the draft for the new Short-Range Transit Plan., which is planned to redesign the bus network in Durham from 2024 to 2028. Funding has been approved for these services, which the changes would happen between 2024 to 2028. These changes would be:
 * Add crosstown routes connecting NCCU and The Village Shopping Center, assigned as route 13 and Duke/VA Hospitals and Duke Regional Hospital, assigned as route 14.
 * Increase 9H/9G routes to serve until midnight, thus route 9N service would only run partially in Saturday and only run all day on Sunday.
 * 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 from 7 am to 7 pm on weekdays and Saturdays.
 * Increase all service to run every 30 minutes during weekdays, evening, and weekends.
 * Create a transportation center in The Village, serving the 3, 3B, and 3C routes. (or what will be the 3, 13, and 16 routes)
 * Increased service on GoTriangle routes for Durham.

Future Transit Plans
These other ideas are being considered to be added in the far future. These include:
 * Create a transit center in North Duke Crossing [4/9/9A/9B]
 * Acquire more buses for increased service.
 * Relocate GoTriangle's Regional Transit Center.
 * Extend Chapel Hill Transit's D route to Patterson Place.
 * Provide ideas for North Durham [4/9/9A/9B/16] and Chapel Hill Rd [10/10B] Transit Corridors.