I-40 Bus on Shoulder System pilot now available

July 17, 2012 - 10:00am

North Carolina's first Bus on Shoulder System (BOSS) pilot has begun on Interstate 40 in the Research Triangle Region.  The BOSS program allows authorized transit buses to operate on freeway shoulders during periods of congestion.

The very low-cost program will reduce transit delays and create more predictable and reliable travel times for transit users during congested periods on the pilot corridor in Durham County between US 15-501 and Page Road including Research Triangle Park.  

The freeway shoulder will maintain its primary function as a breakdown lane, and buses must yield to everything in the shoulder.  In addition, buses using the shoulder may only travel up to 15 MPH faster than traffic and cannot exceed 35 MPH.

Triangle Transit routes that may utilize bus-on-shoulder operation in this pilot section of I-40 include: 
• CRX – Chapel Hill-Raleigh Express, uses this entire portion of I-40
• 800 – Chapel Hill to Regional Transit Center via Southpoint
• 700 – Durham to Regional Transit Center (southbound only, I-40 eastbound)
• 42 – Shuttle between IBM and Regional Transit Center (southbound only, I-40 eastbound)

Route 800 from Chapel Hill to the Regional Transit Center via Southpoint was the first Triangle Transit bus route to utilize BOSS on July 16, 2012, the first day of operation for the BOSS Pilot. Passengers are reported to have made their connecting departure for the first time in a while.   

The BOSS program is being implemented by the NC Department of Transportation and Triangle Transit, and is an initiative of the I-40 Regional Partnership coordinated by the Regional Transportation Alliance. For more information, visit triangletransit.org/boss or letsgetmoving.org/boss.
 

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