The destination is set. The tickets are bought. The suitcases are packed. Now it’s time to get to Raleigh-Durham International Airport, where a record-breaking 11 million passengers were served in 2016 with even more expected this year.
This summer traveling season, consider leaving the car at home and taking the bus right up to the doors of RDU instead.
On its Route 100, GoTriangle offers bus service every 30 minutes in peak hours starting at 6:10 a.m. Monday through Friday and at 6:40 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Travelers from Raleigh have nearly 20 places to catch a bus between the GoRaleigh Station on Blount Street and RDU, including numerous stops along Hillsborough Street and one on Blue Ridge Road at the NC Fairgrounds. Travelers from the western Triangle can ride from the Regional Transit Center to the airport. To get to the RTC, Chapel Hill residents can take GoTriangle Route 800 and Durham residents can take Route 700.
No need to worry about getting trapped in traffic on the way, either. GoTriangle’s Bus on Shoulder System allows drivers to use the shoulders of selected freeways at low speeds to bypass congestion.
And, thanks to money from the transit-dedicated half-cent sales tax that Wake County voters approved in November, GoTriangle anticipates being able to offer RDU riders even more frequent service on Route 100 this summer.
Riding a Wi-Fi-equipped GoTriangle bus is easy – and easier on the wallet. A one-way fare is $2.25.
With Transloc, which riders can use by checking its website at triangle.transloc.com or downloading its phone app, tracking the bus in real time also is simple.
Through the end of the year, RDU is renovating its main parking deck between Terminals 1 and 2. About 1,500 of the 11,000 spaces will be unavailable at any given time throughout the renovation project. The airport will be repairing steel and concrete, expanding joints and replacing pipes as well as cleaning and painting.
RDU is adding parking attendants, buses from the economy lots and electric vehicles to help get passengers to their terminals.
In the meantime, Route 100 is a stress-free alternative. For more information on Route 100, go to http://www.gotriangle.org/100 or call 919-485-RIDE.
—Written by Burgetta Eplin Wheeler, GoTriangle public relations specialist