Triangle Row

One of the most vibrant, colorful, inventive, progressive and fun places to visit in North Carolina, Orange County attracts a wide variety of people. The Orange Transit Plan reflects an opportunity to move forward with transit services and projects that will shape the future of Orange County and the western part of the Triangle.

Triangle Row

Read the complete plan

Orange County has several goals for the future of transit:

  • 1
    IMPROVE

    mobility and transportation options

  • 2
    SUPPORT

    improved capital facilities

  • 3
    ENCOURAGE

    transit supportive land use

  • 4
    PROVIDE

    positive impacts on air quality

In order to make these goals possible, the plan will:

  • Improve bus service

    • Add new hours of bus service in both urban and rural Orange County
    • Financially support the existing transit system
    • Provide connections to destinations throughout the county, Alamance, Durham and Wake counties
    • Provide 34,000 hours of bus service

  • Implement bus rapid transit

    A bus rapid transit (BRT) project that provides more efficient and effective transit through the congested core of Chapel Hill, UNC and the UNC Medical Center.

  • Improve rider experience

    New and improved bus stops with amenities such as benches and shelters. Access improvements such as sidewalks and trails.

  • Build intercity train station

    A new intercity (Amtrak) train station in Hillsborough, linking northern Orange County to destinations throughout North Carolina and along the East Coast with fast passenger rail.

 

How are these plans being funded?

bus

There are four dedicated revenue streams called Tax District Revenues used to fund the local share of projects and services. These four dedicated Tax District Revenue streams, collected in both Durham and Orange counties, are:

  • Article 43: Half-Cent Sales and Use Tax
  • Article 50: 5% Vehicle Rental Tax
  • Article 51: $3 increase to GoTriangle Regional Vehicle Registration Fee
  • Article 52: $7 County Vehicle Registration Fee

Many of the projects and services will be funded through a combination of Tax District Revenue and other funds, including farebox revenues, state funds and federal funds, to equitably meet the transportation needs and goals of Durham and Orange counties.

*Durham and Orange counties’ light rail project has been discontinued as of April 2019. The partners are working together to revise transit plans.