C. Duncan Pardo
Folks downtown will have a new way to get around early next year. The city released its plan for a downtown circulator bus for public comment today.
The circulator will run from Peace Street, down Glenwood South, over to Dawson and loop around to come back up Wilmington. The proposal has two buses on the route, to have a bus come around every 10 minutes. See the documents below for a route map and a copy of the city’s Powerpoint presentation.
Busses leaving the downtown station onto Hargett Street. Photo by C. Duncan Pardo
David Eatman, with the city, says council has already approved funding and the proposal will go to the transit authority for final approval next month. Eatman says he hopes to see the buses running by February. If the transit authority doesn’t like the route, approval could be pushed to January.
The current plan has the buses running longer hours than on most CAT routes. Monday through Wednesday the route will run from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 7 a.m. through 2:15 a.m. And 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday.
The federal government is flipping 80 percent of the bill for the new buses. The city plans to buy three 40 foot hybrid electric buses and keep two running on the route at all times. Each bus can hold 40 people. The city is still taking public comments on the route. You can print a comment form from the documents below.
