#goraleigh

Across the country, cities are looking to expand bus transit as a way to alleviate traffic congestion and combat climate change.  The goal is the same: more riders and fewer cars on the road.

Last year, Kansas City became the first large city to make its bus system completely free — something the smaller Chapel Hill did back in 2002 — which has spurred talk that perhaps Raleigh, with a new city council committed to improving public transportation, could follow suit.

It’s not clear how much that would cost.

Each day, riders make about 18,000 trips on GoRaleigh buses, paying at least $1.25 a ride.  Those trips add about $3 million to the city’s coffers a year.

Eating that cost would require roughly a half-cent property tax increase.  But there would also be savings — GoRaleigh would no longer need to print tickets or maintain ticket vending machines — as well as additional expenses, such as higher maintenance and security costs associated with more ridership.

So the real price tag is difficult to calculate, says Michael Moore, the city’s transportation director.

What’s more important, he says, is figuring out what the city really wants to accomplish: a more equitable bus system or better ridership.

“Sometimes making it fare-free doesn’t actually improve ridership a whole lot,” Moore says.  “What people see as a barrier to transit ridership is the frequency and reliability.  It’s not always the cost.  If the bus isn’t going where you want to go when you want it to go, it doesn’t matter what it costs at that point.”

That wasn’t the case in Chapel Hill, which saw ridership nearly triple after implementing its no-fare system, says transit director Brian Litchfield.  Fares only made up about 12 percent of the bus system’s budget in 2001, making it “pretty easy” to absorb the cost, Litchfield says.  The town went from 2.6 million annual riders in 2002 to about 7 million now.

Kansas City hasn’t yet gotten its zero-fare system up and running, but it will probably cost about $8 million a year, according to spokesman Chris Hernandez.  Kansas City plans to fund it through a combination of sales taxes, property taxes, and federal grants.

The key to Chapel Hill’s success hinged on partnerships Carborro and UNC-Chapel Hill, which fund about 64 percent of the system’s $24 million budget.

Raleigh’s fares comprise only about 8 percent of GoRaleigh’s operating budget, the bulk of which comes from taxpayers, the Wake County Transit Plan, and grants.

Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin says eliminating fares would likely require a joint effort with GoTriangle.  The Regional Transit Alliance is planning a study to explore what that might look like.

That doesn’t mean the Raleigh City Council won’t look into abolishing fares during this year’s budgeting process, Baldwin says.  But because the council already plans to ask taxpayers to shell out hundreds of millions of dollars in bonds for Dix Park and affordable housing, she’s wary of asking for too much, too soon.

“I think this is very doable,” Baldwin says.  “I’m thinking it’s going to take us a little longer, though, than 2020 to figure it out.  So what I would suggest that we look at this as an opportunity for 2021.”

Council member Nicole Stewart says the city should see bus rapid transit through before pushing a fare-free system.  (BRT is included in Wake County’s transit plan, which voters approved in a referendum in 2016.)  That means dedicated bus lanes, more pick-up times, and speedier service.

“I think it is worth exploring the idea of a fare-free system, but we can’t lose sight of our current priority of bus rapid transit,” Stewart says.

For now, the council plans to look into a fare-capping system to ensure that those who pay by the ride don’t pay more than the cost of a monthly pass.

Contact Raleigh news editor Leigh Tauss at [email protected].

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Before you enjoy the fruits of the voting process tomorrow — the in-line small talk invariably centered on how long/short said line is, the thrill of a quickly-but-cleanly-inscribed bubble, the sticker that makes an otherwise mundane Tuesday outfit really pop — before all that, one quick question: How will you get to the polls?

Driving?  A classic choice — be a good neighbor/coworker and offer to carpool.  If you can’t hitch a ride, and your polling place (which you can find here) isn’t within walking distance, you still have a few options from the private sector: Uber is offering a discount of up to $10 for a one-way ride to precincts on election day; Lyft has a similar promotion of 50 percent off rides to polling locations (up to $5).  But neither of those will suffice for round-trip service free of charge, which brings us to the subject of this post: good old-fashioned public buses.

For the second straight year, GoDurham will be completely fare-free on Election Day and, in a decision announced just last week, so will GoRaleigh.  While it’s not a perfect solution, free day-of public transit is increasingly becoming a tool to help lower the barriers to voting: Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Tampa, and Minnesota’s Twin Cities are among the major metro areas to implement this change; in North Carolina, Asheville, Burlington, and Greensboro have also taken the plunge.

So what will this look like for voters in the Triangle?  Using Google Maps, I’ve compiled guides that show all the polling locations in both Durham County and Wake County, the nearest bus stop(s) for each polling place, and the bus lines that serve them.  After clicking those links, you can search the top bar for your polling place and quickly see if public transit is an option for you.

A few points of emphasis:

Polling places (houses) are either shaded blue (meaning they have a bus stop within 0.5 miles), purple (the closest bus stop is between 0.5 miles and 1 mile away), or black (no bus stops within 1 mile).

For a more specific gauge of the distance from curbside to ballot-casting, you can use the ruler icon (under the search bar, the icon to the far right) to see the distance in feet/miles.

Whenever possible, I’ve included fairly close stops on alternate bus lines to provide maximum travel flexibility for travelers.  The polling location should list (next to “Buses That Stop Nearby”) all lines that drop off in the area; the description for each bus stop shows the lines that specifically stop there.

While I could validate much of the GoDurham data using this PDF, I typically deferred to results from Google Maps and the TransLoc Rider app (which bus riders should download to coordinate their trips to the polls in real-time).

In Durham, the city’s buses serve the polling locations fairly well: forty-four of fifty-seven precincts (77 percent) have bus stops within a half mile, and in both 2016 and 2017, those precincts accounted for roughly 72 percent of Election Day voters.  The hit rate drops steadily as one moves outside the city to the county’s more remote areas — two of the completely unserved locations are in Bahama, and another is technically over the border into Chapel Hill.  And while it’s not super surprising given America’s urban/rural voting patterns, the Durham precincts that are closer to the city center and are thus transit-accessible tend to have more Democratic voters: In the 2016 general election, among voters at those forty-four polling places with a bus stop nearby, nearly 75 percent backed Hillary Clinton, while only 52 percent of voters at the county’s remaining precincts did.

The story in Wake County is a bit more complicated, largely due to the county’s sprawl and coincident drop in effective mass transit.  In total, just 107 of Wake County’s 204 precincts are feasibly connected to the bus system; moreover, a decent portion of those are covered by GoCary or GoTriangle, neither of which appear to be offering free rides on Tuesday.  The end result?  Only about 37 percent of voters can take advantage of the free rides with GoRaleigh.  It’s a good deal if your polling place is inside the beltline (twenty-nine of thirty-one precincts are well-covered, and the remaining two are less-than-fifteen-minute walks from a bus stop); outside, your proverbial mileage may vary.

Regardless, as more municipalities start to adopt this policy, and as Durham and Wake Counties maintain these policies for future elections and optimize their transit options, we can hopefully explore and answer more detailed questions: Does offering free rides actually affect turnout?  How about if GoDurham tweaked the locations of its stops and, say, extended its 3B line two blocks further out Highway 98 so that passengers could get dropped off right at the door of the East Regional Library?  Or what if the free rides also encompassed one day of early voting, so that all citizens could choose an early voting location that’s mere steps from a bus stop?  After all, a free ride only provides convenience if it takes you where you want to go.

But first comes tomorrow’s election, and no matter the outcome, it seems a safe bet that the debates we’ll face Wednesday morning will far overshadow these marginal musings.  With that in mind: Polls are open Tuesday from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m, and bus schedules for all area lines are available on the GoDurham website.

Y’ALL! I cannot tell you how much last week meant to me.  I mean, in a very real sense, the week was a train wreck wrapped in a dumpster fire, and I saw a whole bunch of papers and jobs across my industry go up in smoke overnight.  But the response we received when we asked for help was staggering.  In five days, the INDY Press Club raised $11,000.  It absolutely blew me away.  And it’s the kind of support that will sustain us through the next few months when ad revenue is likely to be sparse at best.  So thank you so very much for that. That being said, this newsletter does have a sponsor this week.  So say hello to a very good friend of PRIMER and my favorite local municipal transit agency, GoRaleigh — which not only has free Wi-Fi on every bus and is taking extra precautions related to the coronavirus but, beginning today, is also offering fare-free rides and rear-door boarding so everyone will feel safe getting around.  (Persons with disabilities can still use the front door, of course.)  Do me a favor and check out the link — and if you’re in Raleigh, use the bus.  It’s safe, it’s easy, it’s good for the environment, and now it’s free. Today’s PRIMER will be briefer than usual, as I’m backed up with stuff for this week’s issue, which has to go to the printer earlier than normal.  A reminder: If you enjoy this newsletter, please share it with your friends and ask them to subscribe at INDYprimer.com. As always, PRIMER is made possible by the INDY Press Club.  Your contributions help us keep local independent journalism viable in the Triangle, coronavirus be damned.  Donate like my livelihood depends on it. —Jeffrey C. Billman, INDY editor. Follow me on Twitter @jeffreybillman. 

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY [2020-03-23]

Above the Fold

→   WILL N.C. GET A SHELTER-IN-PLACE ORDER TODAY?

On Friday, Governor Cooper said that while the COVID-19 situation is evolving, he was not considering issuing a shelter-in-place order or closing more businesses.  I have a feeling that might change when the governor addresses the media at 1:00 p.m. today.  I don’t claim to have any insight into Cooper’s thinking.  This is more like speculation informed by reporting.  Let’s review the evidence:

Cooper on Friday: “As a state, we have to be prepared for every scenario.  Right now, we are not issuing a shelter in place order or an additional closure of businesses.  This is an evolving situation, and any changes will be based on what’s happening in North Carolina and what is best for public health.”

Since then: North Carolina has exceeded 300 coronavirus cases, and that number is rising fast as more tests take place.  Across the country, there are now more than 30,000 cases and nearly 400 deaths.

Wake County, now at 52 confirmed cases and counting, declared a state of emergency yesterday, closing gyms, tattoo parlors, massage services, hair salons, and the like; banning gatherings of more than 50 people; and prohibiting the use of playground equipment at parks.

Durham, with 41 cases, has already declared a state of emergency, and Mayor Schewel has been lobbying Cooper to declare a shelter-in-place order statewide, he told me yesterday.

Mecklenburg County has 80 cases.  While the county has not imposed a shelter-in-place order, its health director told the Board of Commissioners last week, “I think we may be moving in that direction more quickly than we would like.”

We asked Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin about rumors that Raleigh was going into a full shutdown: “There is a convo going on,” she told us Saturday.  But not happening this weekend.”  On Sunday, the official Wake County government account tweeted: “Right now, we are not issuing a stay-at-home order. It remains a tool in our toolbox.”

Yesterday, I asked Schewel about rumors I’d heard that he was going to order a citywide lockdown effective at the end of the day today.  He replied: “I have been in regular touch with the governor’s staff, and I am urging the governor to issue a statewide shelter in place order.  Reading about the lost opportunity to act early in Italy, and its devastating consequences, is very sobering.  The governor has already taken excellent and important actions, and I am sure he is considering this as well.  I spoke to him a couple of days ago, and I know he is considering further actions.”

The background: Several states, including California, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Illinois, have issued stay-at-home orders, forcing nonessential businesses to keep employees at home and limiting the circumstances under which people — especially older people — should go outside.  These orders will become more common as the numbers of cases rise — and if current trends hold, North Carolina’s number will likely double within three to six days, and that number will double three to six days after that.  About 20 percent of patients will need medical intervention — either severe or critical.  That could overload the hospital system.  If social distancing and quarantining don’t slow the spread of COVID-19 — flattening the curve — hospitals will be overwhelmed.

Read between the lines: If Cooper doesn’t issue a stay-at-home order today, chances are he’ll do so soon.  And now that we have a documented case of community spread, don’t expect the kids to go back to school in the near future.

State & Local

→   WILL SCHEWEL ORDER DURHAM TO STAY AT HOME IF COOPER DOESN’T?

Read the rest of the message he sent me and judge for yourself: “Ideally, a shelter in place order should be a statewide or regional order.  It is very hard to do locally because so many people are driving into Durham from all over the region every morning.  Depending upon the governor’s actions on Monday, I may need to issue further local mandates as well, and I will not hesitate to do so to keep Durham safe.”

Schewel didn’t respond to my follow-up about what local options were available to him should Cooper not issue a statewide order.  However, a friend forwarded me an email Schewel sent yesterday to a constituent (the exchange was passed around a neighborhood listserv), which makes pretty clear what he has in mind.

“The decision to have shelter-in-place in Durham is one the governor should best make on a statewide or regional basis.  It’s hard to shut down just Durham when there are thousands and thousands of people driving in here from our region every single morning.  I am strongly supportive of a shelter-in-place policy for the state, and I have let the governor’s staff know this.  I am advocating hard for this with the governor, and I am glad that you are as well. Please let the governor’s office hear from you.

“If we do not get this guidance from the governor in the next couple of days, I will make more decisions to keep Durham safe, as I did last week by shutting theaters, rec centers, gyms, and fitness centers.  Today I drove to Wheels where there were birthday parties going on and no social distancing.  I am concerned about this kind of gathering as well as nail salons, spas, hair salons, tattoo parlors, and other personal care businesses of that nature where people are in very close physical contact.  We cannot let this continue.  Depending on the governor’s actions on Sunday or Monday, I may need to issue more local mandates, and I will definitely do so.”  (Emphasis added.)

→   BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: WALK & WAG

If you’ve been paying attention to this newsletter or the INDY for any amount of time, you’ve probably realized that I’m a pretty big dog person.  As in, back in the days when we were allowed into the office, mine went with me every day.  They are basically the INDY’s mascots.  So believe me when I tell you that I would not shout out a dog-related business that I did not have a high level of faith in.   Here’s a second-order effect of this recession that you might not have considered: Nobody is going on vacation.  Most people aren’t leaving the house for work.  Dogs might be experiencing unprecedented levels of Humans Being Home, but it can be a pretty rough time for dog walkers and pet sitters.

Our friends at Walk & Wag in Chapel Hill are still caring for the pets of first responders, doctors and nurses, and others on the frontlines and the pandemic, and if you need them, they have a staff of 30 professionals ready to accept service requests for as long as they’re needed, while, of course, following CDC guidelines.  

They’re also delivering pet food and supplies to folks who can’t leave their house and transporting your furry pals to vet clinics, which is really cool.  And they’ve partnered with the Orange County Animal Shelter to help find doggos forever and foster homes.

This spring marks their 10th anniversary.  And while this probably isn’t the way they wanted to spend it, it’s an achievement nonetheless.

So if you’re in Chapel Hill and you need sitting or walking services — real talk: work at home all day, and even the best-behaved dogs will get on your nerves a little; they could use a walk — give Walk & Wag a call.  And if you don’t right now, give them a ring when everything gets back to something resembling normal.  Here’s a list of their services.

→  WEATHER:  🌧🌧🌧☁️ (High of 56)

Nation & World

→  NO DEAL ON THE CORONAVIRUS STIMULUS.

Any hopes of a quick resolution on a $1.8 trillion stimulus bill are likely dead in the water. 
On Sunday, with five of their members in coronavirus-related quarantine, Senate Republicans could muster only 47 votes for their proposal, far shy of the 60 they’ll need for passage.  While there’s widespread agreement on the need for a massive injection of money into the quickly collapsing economy, figuring out how that money should be spent is another matter altogether.

REPUBLICANS WANT: The bill includes $100 billion to help hospitals, $250 billion to beef up unemployment insurance — both Democratic priorities — and $250 billion for direct cash payments of $1,200 to most Americans (as well as $500 for every qualifying child), with the payments phasing out at $75,000 of 2018 income.  It includes $350 billion to help small businesses avoid layoffs, and $500 billion in loans and loan guarantees to businesses, states, and cities.  Of that pot, $425 billion would be controlled by the Treasury Department to give to eligible businesses, cities, and states.  The rest of the $500 billion would be split among the airline industry, cargo air firms, and companies the administration deems critical to national security.  It does not include many restrictions on the companies that receive these bailouts.

DEMOCRATS SAY: The $425 billion is a slush fund that Treasury could use it to direct money to companies and industries the president favors — even his own.  Even the most conservative Democrat in the Senate, Joe Manchin, thought the corporate bailouts were a bridge too far: “They’re throwing caution to the wind for average workers and people on Main Street and going balls to the wall for people on Wall Street."  If Joe Manchin recognizes that the fatcat slush fund is twice the amount given to workers, maybe it’s time to give this one another think.  

OVER IN THE HOUSE: Pelosi is going to introduce her own bill.  While the speaker reportedly thought direct cash payments were impractical several weeks ago, now that Republicans have embraced them, except House Dems to up the ante, with a package loaded much heavier toward working stiffs and small businesses and less toward bailouts.  At least, you’d hope they’re smart enough to swing at the hanging curveball over the middle of the plate.

WHAT IT MEANS: There’s pressure to get it done and get it done fast. But Democrats are keenly cognizant that the base of their party has never quite gotten over the 2008 bailouts.  Expect a deal this week, because time is of the essence.  Don’t expect that it will look like the one Senate Republicans just crafted.  Mitch McConnell needs Senate Dems to pass a bill, and Trump will sign whatever he’s handed.  House Democrats know that.

                                                                            Primer is made possible by contributions to the INDY Press Club.  Join today and support independent local journalism.  If you’d like to advertise your business to Primer’s 25,000 subscribers, please contact me at [email protected] or John Hurld at [email protected].  If you have suggestions for improving this newsletter, please contact me at [email protected].