Buses World News: TRANSPORT PUBLIC SERVICE * USA: "The GO ... GO ... GO era" in NC & FREE FARES in Montana & I-66 shoulders in DC

* North Carolina - Triangle’s buses are going to a Go, Go and Go

-- Raleigh’s Capital Area Transit buses will carry new “GoRaleigh” labels and Durham’s DATA buses will say “GoDurham” starting March 25 – and Triangle Transit’s regional buses will sail under a “GoTriangle” banner... The coordinated effort is part of a regional rebranding for transit agencies that began merging their fares, routes, marketing and planning efforts a few years ago... Cary’s C-Tran buses will be rechristened “GoCary” in 2016. That leaves Chapel Hill Transit as the lone holdout among the region’s municipal bus services... (Photo by John Dancy Jones: Raleigh takes a snow day. Capital Area Transit and Trangle Transit Authority buses were on a limited schedule Saturday) -- Raleigh, NC, USA - The News Observer, by BRUCE SICELOFF - 11 March 2015

* Montana - Mountain Line bus system sets ridership record with free fares

-- Mountain Line closes first month of free fares with 22 percent increase. This may not come as a shock to anybody, but more Missoulians are taking advantage of public buses now that they're free to ride... The Missoula Urban Transportation District announced Wednesday that the Mountain Line bus system set a new record for ridership in February, a month after transitioning to the zero-fare rides and adding new and faster service routes... According to Mountain Line general manager Corey Aldridge, the bus system provided 100,120 rides to customers last month, a 23 percent increase over the 2014 February total. It was also the highest ridership in the agency’s history... Mountain Line officially launched the three-year zero-fare demonstration project on Jan. 5. It was made possible by $460,000 in sponsorship money from 14 different community partners... The same day, the bus service launched phase 2 of its “Long Range Transportation Plan” that was financed by a $1.7 million voter-approved mill levy... Mountain Line officials have said in the past that they expect a 45 percent increase in ridership over the next three years... Aldridge said, ovrall the public has loved not having to dig into their pockets for bus fare... (Photo by Tom Bauer - People board one of Mountain Line's new buses during an event to show them to the public in November at Mountain Line Headquarters. The buses were put in service in January along with new routes and zero-fare services) -- Missoula, Montana, USA - The Missoulian, by David Erickson - March 11, 2015

* Virginia - Buses to begin using I-66 shoulders in pilot program

-- Some Northern Virginia commuters will now get to cut in line during heavy traffic on Interstate 66... Starting March 23, PRTC OmniRide commuter buses to and from Manassas and Gainesville will be able to use the shoulders along some stretches of I-66 whenever traffic in the regular lanes is moving slower than 35 miles per hour... The Virginia Department of Transportation’s project manager for the pilot program, Rahul Trivedi, says other bus services like Metrobus could join the program within the next few months... If the pilot program is successful, Trivedi says there are other stretches on I-66 inside the Beltway that could be added to the program relatively quickly without too much additional work... VDOT will consider things like how much time it saves, how frequently the shoulders are used, whether there are safety issues, and how the shoulders hold up to the wear and tear as part of a cost-benefit analysis at the end of the one-year pilot... (Image: I66 bus pilot map) -- Washington,DC,USA - Washington Top News, by Max Smith -March 11, 2015

Labels: public transport USA