So I've recently moved to Raleigh, NC to start a job working for NCSU at the Institute for Transportation Research and Education. I'll be working closely with the state on bicycle and pedestrian issues, and doing some outreach and education as well. I'm very excited about my new job!
I arrived last week without a car and found the transit system a little difficult to understand. Fares are different between agencies. Schedules are not integrated. Hours of service and frequency are slim. There are numerous agencies which provide service in Raleigh -- Triangle Transit, Capital Area Transit, and the Wolf-Line which serves NCSU. There's also a free downtown circulator bus which I have not yet had the pleasure of riding.
Milwaukee's transit system is relatively easy to understand and use compared to this mess.
Triangle Transit seems very efficient in serving regional travel, including the airport, and it pretty much drops me off right at my front door on Hillsborough St. Frequencies aren't that great and span of service on the weekend is very thin, but I feel that as long as my flights are at reasonable hours (or on weekdays), I might be able to make this work!
Capital Area Transit, for being the main agency serving city residents, does not seem to cut it. Schedule frequency is thin and routes don't serve major destinations -- how do I get to Target and Trader Joes? I've discovered "Food Lion" which is a funny named place where people buy groceries via bicycle, and I feel that I can definitely eat without a car, but the necessities might be a bit out of reach.
The Wolf-Line is incredibly circuitous and I can't say how well it actually moves people about campus. It seems very inefficient, with buses running in constant loops, but my favorite part about it -- you can look up and see where the bus is actually positioned on the route. At least I can get to work at Centennial if it gets too cold (yeah right) or if a monsoon comes through.
Now the question is, with the area's transit systems and my quiver of bicycles, panniers, and bike trailer - can I live here without a car? I know the answer is resoundingly "yes" but what will I have to give up? Will someone try to run over me and my bike trailer on the way to the laundromat?
This should be interesting. I suppose I should start by documenting. :)
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