Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation

Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART) provides inter-city and regional public transportation for the Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point, NC combined statistical area, known as the Piedmont Triad area. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 377,200, or about 1,400 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2023.

Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation

Founded	1998
Service area	Piedmont Triad
Service type	bus service
Routes	17
Hubs	Coble Transportation Center
Daily ridership	1,400 (weekdays, Q4 2023)^[1]
Annual ridership	377,200 (2023)^[2]
Operator	National Express Transit
Website	partnc.org

Member Counties

• Alamance
• Davie
• Davidson
• Forsyth
• Guilford
• Randolph
• Rockingham
• Stokes
• Yadkin

History

In the winter of 1989 the City Managers, Transportation Advisory Committee Chairpersons and the Directors of Transportation for the Cities of Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem held a joint meeting to discuss transportation related issues in the Triad Region. It was a known necessity from all represented that better planning needed to occur to improve the transportation systems throughout the Piedmont Triad. A lack of communication and planning at the regional level between districts and divisions of the cities and state respectively had been a contributing factor to congestion and diminishing the quality of life. In the fall of 1993 the NCDOT provided funding of what has been called "phase one study to develop a Regional Transportation Plan."

In the fall of 1995, the Transit 2001 Commission was appointed by Governor Jim Hunt to investigate the future of North Carolina's transit industry.

In the fall of 1996, a second phase of a Regional Transportation Study initiated a meeting of the mayors throughout the Triad and others to discuss the formation of a new Triad Transportation Authority.

In February 1997, the Transit 2001 Commission released its final report. The Transit 2001 report had been regarded as the map for the future of North Carolina's transit industry.

In June 1997, the North Carolina General Assembly passed Article 27, GS160A authorizing the formation of a Regional Transportation Authority in the Triad. The NC General Assembly also appropriated $750,000 to conduct two separate rail corridor studies in the Triad to be administered by the new Regional Transportation Authority. Moreover, in June 1997, authorization for new revenue sources to fund Regional Transportation Programs was established.

In the Fall of 1997, representatives of local governments met to arrange for the formation of a Regional Transportation Authority in the Piedmont Triad.

On October 6, 1998, the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation held its inaugural meeting of the board of trustees. The PART Board of Trustees has been meeting regularly since the inaugural meeting of 1998. The board of trustees have established a work program, adopted a business plan and have increased staff to manage the activities of the Regional Transportation Authority.

In 2012, PART chose National Express Transit as its contractor, after the bankruptcy of previous operator Coach America.^[3]

On February 21, 2022, the Surry County Board of County Commissioners voted to withdraw their membership from PART effective June 30, 2022.

Route list (Effective May 1, 2022)

Weekday Routes (Effective May 1, 2022)

1 — Winston-Salem Express	Coble Transportation Center to Downtown Winston-Salem^[4]
2 — Greensboro Express	Coble Transportation Center to Downtown Greensboro^[5]
3 — High Point Express	Coble Transportation Center to Downtown High Point^[6]
4 — Alamance-Burlington Express	Coble Transportation Center to Chapel Hill via downtown Greensboro, Burlington, Graham and Mebane^[7]
9 — Davidson County Express	Thomasville and downtown High Point to UNCG and downtown Greensboro ^[8]
10 — Randolph County Express	NC Zoo, Asheboro and Randleman to UNCG and downtown Greensboro ^[9]
17 — Kernersville Express	Kernersville to downtown Winston-Salem and the Coble Transportation Center ^[10]
20 — Pleasant Ridge	Coble Transportation Center to nearby facilities to the west ^[11]
21 — Chimney Rock	Coble Transportation Center to nearby facilities to the east ^[12]
22 — Sandy Ridge	Coble Transportation Center to nearby areas to the south ^[13]
23 — Piedmont Parkway	Coble Transportation Center to nearby facilities to the south ^[14]
24 — Burgess/Regional Road	Coble Transportation Center to facilities in its direct vicinity ^[15]
25 — PTI Airport	Coble Transportation Center to Piedmont-Triad International Airport^[16]

Saturday Routes

1 — Winston-Salem Express	Coble Transportation Center to Downtown Winston-Salem^[17]
2 — Greensboro Express	Coble Transportation Center to Downtown Greensboro^[17]
3 — High Point Express	Coble Transportation Center to Downtown High Point^[17]
North-South Saturday	On-demand service from Coble Transportation Center to destinations along Weekday Routes 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24^[18]
PTI Airport Saturday	On-demand service from Coble Transportation Center destinations along Weekday Route 25-PTI Airport Corridor

References

1. "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. March 4, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
2. "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. March 4, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
3. "PART approves new bus provider". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved 2015-05-25.
4. "PART Route 1". Retrieved 12 June 2021.
5. "PART Route 2". Retrieved 12 June 2021.
6. "PART Route 3". Retrieved 12 June 2021.
7. "PART Route 4". Retrieved 12 June 2021.
8. "PART Route 9". Retrieved 12 June 2021.
9. "PART Route 10". Retrieved 12 June 2021.
10. "PART Route 17". Retrieved 12 June 2021.
11. "PART Route 20". Retrieved 12 June 2021.
12. "PART Route 21". Retrieved 12 June 2021.
13. "PART Route 22". Retrieved 12 June 2021.
14. "PART Route 23". Retrieved 12 June 2021.
15. "PART Route 24". Retrieved 12 June 2021.
16. "PART Route 25". Retrieved 6 September 2023.
17. "PART Routes 1, 2, 3 SATURDAY". Retrieved 6 September 2023.
18. "PART North-South Saturday". Retrieved 6 September 2023.

External links

• http://www.partnc.org