North Carolina cities' public transportation stacks up decently compared to cities nationwide with similar populations — but there is still room for improvement.
The Fivethirtyeight blog compiled a list of cities with populations over 200,000 and ranked the public transit trips per capita, according to data from the Federal Transit Administration. North Carolina only has 10 cities that crack the top 290.
Coming in at #21 on the list is Durham, the highest-ranking North Carolina city. Durham has 43.4 public transit trips per capita, but the city is still looking to improve their public transportation system.
At the moment, there are 11 planned transit stations in Durham.
Durham officials are attempting to keep the housing around these new transit stations affordable for those who earn at or below 60 percent of the median area income. So far, 10 of the 11 scheduled transit stations meet this goal.
Durham is also participating in talks with Chapel Hill about a 17-mile light rail between the two cities, which would include a stop at UNC Hospitals.
The project is being funded by sales taxes and government subsidies and is scheduled to be completed by 2025. The rail system is intended to ease congestion and provide residents with another transportation option when heading to work.
With 20.9 public transit trips per capita, Charlotte might be a major metro area but has room to improve their public transportation options. Dan Clodfelter, the Charlotte mayor, has recently asked for the authority to enforce new taxes to bring in money for transit projects.
The city has undertaken a light-rail expansion that was partially funded by the state, from uptown to UNC-Charlotte, but without further subsidizing, this rail project might be the last of its kind in the area.
The city of Fayetteville only has 5.3 public transportation trips per capita and is looking for ways to improve its public transportation as well. Fayetteville officials have starting looking into expanding the city’s public transportation system.
In the past, plans to increase public transit in Fayetteville have either been underfunded or have been cut due to budget constraints.
state@dailytarheel.com
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