Since its inception in August 2005, the Triangle Transit Authority’s express bus route to Chapel Hill has grown in popularity and now provides both daily commuters and weekend travelers with a fast and free mode of transportation.

John Tallmadge, TTA Director of Commuter Resources, said University employees, graduate students and commuters to downtown Raleigh primarily use the express services. However, TTA has recorded an increase in student use.

“We get a little blip on Fridays from N.C. State students going to hang out with friends or loved ones in Chapel Hill for the weekend,” Tallmadge said.

Mike McCauliffe, a sophomore in business management, said he has been been riding the bus for two years now and for the most part, it has been dependable.

“It’s just something I have to do because I play music every night in Chapel Hill,” McCauliffe said.

History professor David Ambaras expressed similar sentiments, commenting that he rides the bus to the University most days and it has rarely let him down.

“There have been a couple of days where something has happened, but by-in-large, it’s reliable,” Ambaras said.

Ambaras said he appreciates the time afforded to him by commuting on the bus – time, which he said would otherwise be wasted if he was forced to drive himself to work.

“I like the fact that I don’t have to drive and spend money on gas,” said Ambaras. “Instead, I get to spend my time reading, thinking or just relaxing.”

Tallmadge said the U-Pass commuter system, a system which makes the trip free for all students, faculty and staff with the presentation of their University IDs, has also helped the service gain favor from commuters.

“Not only is it fast and convenient, your school or employer paying for the trip makes easy the decision to switch.”

According to McCauliffe, riding the bus also cuts down on the hassles of finding and paying for a place to park on campus.

“Parking on State campus is pretty hard,” said McCauliffe. “The parking decks have been really full the times that I’ve driven.”

McCauliffe said the one drawback to the service is the limited availability of bus departure times during the day.

“It’d be nice if they had a few more options in terms of times during the day, but I guess they don’t have enough people,” McCauliffe said.

Tallmadge said TTA is in fact considering an expansion of its services, but it is not likely to go into effect until August 2007.

“We are defining what we want the TTA experience to be,” said Tallmadge. “We have to make a decision on whether to place more emphasis on our express service versus our other services.”