GoDurham

The City of Durham assumed the operation of the local Duke Power bus system in 1991, naming it Durham Area Transit Authority (DATA).[3]

• 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

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 17th, 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.[4]

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.[5]

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 now also serves Megabus and FlixBus. The building was designed by the Freelon group.[6] 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.[7]

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.[8] To plan enhance service, GoTriangle introduced GoDurham's Short-Range Transit Plan in April 2019.[9] 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.

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 were instituted.

• Route 4: reduced to two-hour headways.
• Route 5K: reduced service to hourly, leaving Durham Station at the :45 hour mark.
• Route 7: reduced to two-hour headways.
• Route 10B: reduced service to hourly, leaving Durham Station at the :15 hour mark.
• Route 11/11B: eliminated trips.
• Route 20: reduced service to hourly.

In April, bus capacity was reduced to 16 passengers. and 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. The follow service restorations are as follows:

• Route 1: Service restored to 30 minutes.
• Route 2: Restored Trips
• Route 3/3B/3C: Service fully restored, restoring 15-minute service between The Village & Durham Station
• Route 4: Service restored to 30 minutes.
• Route 5: Service restored to 30 minutes & trips restored.

By June 29, GoDurham restored all bus service back to pre-COVID service patterns. However, the aforementioned requirements are still in place. However, the year still had improvements. On July 30, the new Southpoint bus stop was opened. It replaced the former one in the parking lot. On September 8, the new Glenview Station stop was opened, replacing the one on E Geer St. In October 2020, GoDurham continued with the Short-Range Transit Plan, adding 15-minute service to Fayetteville St and adding better weekday evening and weekend service to various routes.

However, the effects of the pandemic were lingering, On June 29, 2021, service was reduced due to an operator shortage. The follow service reductions was introduced:

• Route 1: Croasdaile Crossings service suspended. Evening service reduced to hourly.
• Route 2: Modified morning trips.
• Route 4: Evening service reduced to hourly.
• Route 5: Daytime service reduced to half-hourly.
• Route 6, 7, & 8: Service reduced to hourly.
• Route 10B: 10B suspended.
• Route 11/11B: Service reduced to hourly.
• Route 12B: Suspended. Use GoTriangle's 700 route to Regional Transit Center.
• Route 20: Suspended. Use adjacent routes to Duke University.
  

  The 5K route was restored in 2021. It lived long enough to see it running a Gillig Low Floor+ EV bus.

However, in late 2021, GoDurham started to restore service again. On November 8th, 2021, the 5K, despite being discontinued for the Fayetteville St corridor, and the 10B routes were restored.[10] To provide lost service to Croasdaile Crossings, on February 1, 2022, route 6 service was extended to serve Croasdaile Crossings during weekday daytime hours.[11] 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. On February 13, service returned on route 7 to run half-hourly.[12]

GoDurham's fixed-route service currently runs 58 vehicles, running on 21 routes. GoDurham currently operates Gillig Low Floor & Gillig BRT buses, They currently run diesel, hybrid and even electric buses. As part of the clean-energy program, 20 Gillig BRT Hybrids were delivered to the city in 2009–2010.[14] 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 are expected to arrive by 2023, to replace aging units.[15][16] As of now, this is the current fleet as of April 2023.[17]

Image	Year	Bus Name	Fleet Numbers	Notes
	2008	Gillig Low Floor 40' Diesel	801-806 Total: 6 units	Delivered in July 2008 Refurbished and repowered in FY 2016-2017 Expected to start retiring in 2023
	2010	Gillig BRT HEV 40'	1001-1020, 1201-1204 Total: 23 units	Delivered in July 2010 and 2012 Repowered in 2018, refurbished in 2021. One unit, 1007, is unavailable due to an accident
	2012
	2017	Gillig Low Floor 40' Diesel	1701-1712 Total: 12 units	Delivered by August 2017 Expected to be repowered in 2023. Used to retire a portion of 2003 units.
	2018 2019		1801-1803, 1901-1904 Total: 7 units	First units delivered in April 2018 The rest delivered in July–September 2019 Ordered to replace 2003 units. First to include USB ports.
	2021		2103-2110 Total: 8 units	Delivered January 2022 Ordered to provide more service.
		Gillig Low Floor Plus+ EV 40'	2101-2102 Total: 8 units (under delivery)	2101-2102 delivered Earth Day 2021 Durham's first-ever electric bus fleet. Two units to replace remaining 2003 units Six units are to be delivered by 2023 to replace 2008 units.
	2021

GoDurham or previously Durham Area Transit Authority operated previous buses from its inception in 1991. Photos may be provided.

Image	Year	Bus Model	Fleet Numbers	Notes
N/A	1992	OBI Orion I (01.507)	9201-9232 (32 units)	The first buses were purchased by DATA in 1992 to replace old Duke Power Company units. Originally numbered 101–131. Retired in 2007, replaced by 2003, 2005, and 2008 Gillig Low Floors.
N/A	2000 2001	Gillig Phantom 30' Diesel	0001-0008 0101-0103 (11 units)	Replaced some Orion I's Mainly ran until 2009, and remained in reserve until 2011. Retired in 2011 by 2008 Gillig Low Floors and 2009-2012 Gillig BRTs
	2003	Gillig Low Floor 40' Diesel	0301-0331 (31 units)	Replaced all Orion I's. Repowered from DD50 to Cummins ISL, refurbished in 2010 Despite rebranding, many retained the old DATA livery. However, some units only ran with a white body and GoDurham logos Retired in 2022 by 2017, 2018, and 2019 Gilligs, and the two electric buses. The last units running were 0325 and 0329, which last ran on 12/29/21.
	2005		0501 (1 unit)	Sole 2005 unit. Probably refurbished by 2012. Despite being close to the 2003 models, the unit was retrofitted with the GoDurham scheme. Retired in 2020 or 2021.

Here is the list of routes in the current system. Refer to the GoDurham site for more information.[18] As of May 2023, some route operate reduced service or are suspended. 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. Every route, with the exception of route 20 stops and terminates at Durham Station.

Many routes were changed or eliminated during the years. Many routes were eliminated due to low ridership, different transit plans, and alternative services. Many routes are from the Creating Better Bus Service plan in 2012-2013 and the Short-Range Transit Plan in 2019–2020. This does not include any extensions or reductions in existing routes.

Some route's designations were used multiple times and are aforementioned as what service. Years will be provided to indicate history.

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.[22]

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

• Bus Access Project[23] - Will allow easier access to bus stops by adding sidewalks 1/4th mile from a GoDurham bus stop.
• Bus Speed and Reliability Project[24] - Allows for the improvement of bus service by prioritizing buses in traffic, pavement markings, and better signage.
• Durham Station Transit Area[25] - 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[26] - 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[27] - 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.[28]

The Durham Transit Plan is the plan for GoDurham's long-term future bus improvements for the city by 2040.[29] 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.[16]

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.[30]
  • 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.
• Microtransit on the East and North Durham Zones.

The Final Plan is currently done. It will await voting later in the year and will be implemented by summer 2023.

Funding has been approved for these services, which the changes could happen in a year. These changes would be:

• Create a crosstown route connecting Duke/VA Hospitals and Duke Regional Hospital. (route 16)
• Extend service on routes 9A/9B to midnight, thus route 9 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 and add midday service on GoTriangle's 405 route.

These are the planned changes for the next five years. These are:

• Increase all service to 30-minute frequency during weekdays, evening, and weekends
• Create a crosstown route (route 17) between The Village and NCCU.
• Add route 4 and 9 to the Frequent Service Network program.
  • Increase service to GoTriangle's 400 and 700 routes.
  • Extend route 4 to Danube/Herbon.
• Help fund GoTriangle's commuter rail project.
• Rebuild Durham Station, which will provide double the lanes, weather prevention improvements, and increased security.

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.