I never rode the school bus as a kid. Never stood on the sidewalk for 30 minutes in the rain waiting for the low rumbling of a large diesel motor. I Never had to forsake my Cheerios because I saw that flash of faded yellow paint. I missed all of these rites of childhood passage. But luckily for me, the Raleigh Capital Area Transit Bus fulfills this unrequited adolescent experience.
Running twice an hour during the day, the 11 Avent Ferry CAT bus route often gets to campus late regardless of whether it is outbound or inbound from Moore Square due to paying passengers and traffic. I have a class at 9:10 a.m., so I need the drop off at 8:40 a.m. to be on time. I am not alone in my desire for punctuality, as the majority of the bus is filled with my fellow Wolfpackers.
I do not begrudge the CAT bus drivers, as they try their hardest to watch the clock, but the Raleigh system just doesn’t run frequently enough to adequately fill the needs of student riders.
On campus, any given Wolfline route is usually not more than 10 minutes apart, so if a bus is full another will be shortly behind it. The Raleigh buses fill quickly with State riders during peak times, and, consequently, many students are often left on the curb because of how quickly it gets full. Those students then have to wait at least another 30 minutes for the next bus, or find an alternate route to school.
The transit planner for the City of Raleigh Public Works, Carmalee Scarpitti, estimated between 4,000 to 5,000 N. C. State students rode the Avent Ferry route a month for the first six months of 2008. Even using the conservative numbers, I feel this justifies extending a Wolfline route down Lineberry Drive.
The Wolfline Avent Ferry route could be extended down Gorman Street to Thistledown Drive and then from Trailwood Drive onto Lineberry Drive. It would take less time than the bus that goes out to Carter-Finley, and it would serve a large population of off-campus students. Through the GoPass system, students ride free with a valid State ID, and if the transportation department extended a Wolfline route, they could stop supplementing Raleigh transit for each student ride.
In lieu of the recent issues with the lack of parking on campus, it seems that the Transportation Department would be interested in alternative ways to decrease the amount of cars on campus. Adding this specific bus line would certainly help that because many of my student neighbors, and even my roommate, drive to campus sans permit simply because the bus isn’t convenient.
Being the autobahn of innovation doesn’t mean we can’t save the students’ gas or the University’s money, and I know I’m not the only one who would appreciate the transportation department taking the students’ ideas into consideration. I don’t want to needlessly drive my car to campus, but I also need to be on time for class. With all of the changes transportation is considering, this is one more that would make a huge impact on commuting students.
Please pick up on Lineberry, Wolfline. Your services would be well used.
E-mail your thoughts on new bus routes to [email protected].
