Chapel Hill Transit

A public transportation system serving Chapel Hill was suggested in 1965-66, when a member of the town's governing body, then called the Board of Alderman, proposed establishing transit service. Mayoral candidate Howard Lee made establishment of a bus system one of his priorities during his 1969 campaign, and moved to implement the system shortly after wining election as mayor. A trial system was implemented in 1970, but a town referendum to implement a permanent system failed by one vote in 1971. A subsequent study funded by the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (now the Federal Transit Administration) recommended establishment of a system funded by the towns and universities, and a 1973 town referendum was successful in Chapel Hill, garnering about 65 percent support. Service for the new Chapel Hill Community Transit system began on August 1, 1974.

In 1992, Chapel Hill Transit teamed up with the Triangle Clean Cities Coalition and Ebus, a California company that manufactures electric buses, to demonstrate a 22-passenger bus that promised cleaner air and reduced dependence on foreign fuels. This vehicle demonstration followed an earlier one arranged by the Public Transportation Division of the North Carolina Department of Transportation. In the earlier demonstration, a Transteq hybrid bus was transported from daily use in Denver, Colorado, and made available for test drives on the Chapel Hill Transit lot.

In 2002, Chapel Hill Transit inaugurated fare-free service, allowing passengers to take trips without paying a fare on the bus. The fare-fee bus operations are funded through Chapel Hill and Carrboro town taxes, federal grants, and UNC student fees.

In February 2006, K. Stephen Spade, a former Des Moines Metropolitan Transit Authority employee, was hired as the transportation director for the Town of Chapel Hill. The current director is Brian Litchfield, who served as assistant director under Spade beginning in 2008 before assuming his role in 2013.

In August 2006, Chapel Hill Transit announced that their buses will be equipped with GPS tracking devices, allowing the bus riders to check the arrival time of the buses using the internet and their cell phone. The project was completed by NextBus Inc. Fourteen bus stops would also have digitized signs showing the estimated arrival times of buses. These signs were controversial, as the cost of installing them was almost $1 million.

In September 2006, Chapel Hill Transit announced plans to begin purchasing hybrid buses. The town planned to buy as many as nineteen new buses: three hybrids, several extra-long and the rest standard size. In October 2006, the Chapel Hill Town Council approved the purchase of sixteen new Chapel Hill Transit buses at a cost of $5.8 million from Gillig Corp. Federal grants provided about $5.2 million, and the town provided approximately $600,000 in local funds. Three of these sixteen new buses are diesel-electric hybrids. The buses, delivered in July 2007, expanded the system and replaced older buses. The town had an additional $1.7 million in federal funding which was sufficient to purchase four 60-foot articulated buses.

The Chapel Hill Transit system consists of 20 routes, however, during weekends, only 9 routes run. 3 of the weekday routes are considered express routes and are designated with an X. The basic hours of operation are from early morning to evening. Connections to GoTriangle, Orange County Transportation Authority, and PART are available at Manning Drive. Each fixed-route vehicle is equipped with a bike rack, which can take two bikes, and Wi-Fi.

A Senior Shuttle route operates weekdays making 7 stops each hour, in a loop, to destinations in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. The Senior Shuttle route uses alternative vehicles to accommodate passengers with restricted mobility.

All fixed routes and special service routes are fare free. The Tar Heel Express charges a $3 one way and $5 round trip fee for rides.

Safe Ride service

The Safe Ride program is funded by the University of North Carolina to provide safe overnight service while UNC Chapel Hill is in session. It only runs on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. 3 "Safe Ride" routes operate on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday late evenings when the university is in session. They all start in the Varsity Theater in E Franklin Street.