Maybe you’re an N.C. Central student with a friend at State you want to visit. Maybe you’re a UNC student who hates walking from your dorm to class on the other side of campus. Maybe you’re at Meredith and just need a change of scenery. Chances are, you don’t have a car on campus, especially if you’re a freshman. Even so, you have plenty of options for public transportation at Triangle schools.

GOTRIANGLE BUSES

GoTriangle is the Triangle’s regional bus authority, with GoRaleigh and GoDurham providing transit in their respective cities. There are a ton of routes available, but the most important ones for getting from campus to campus are the 400 (Chapel Hill-Durham), DRX (Durham-Raleigh Express), and CRX (Chapel Hill-Raleigh Express). Express routes are all $3 a ride (regional routes like the 400 or the 800 are $2.25), and a regional day pass is only $4.50. Before you buy a one-way pass, check with your school’s transportation department to see if your student ID qualifies you for an annual GoPass for unlimited rides on routes to and from campus. Every Triangle school provides these passes in some capacitystudents at N.C. Central get them for free.

TRAINS

Raleigh’s Union Station just opened in July, making train travel to and from the capital city a lot more convenient. A trip from Raleigh to Durham (or vice versa) will set you back $7.50, and Amtrak’s Piedmont train is a decent option for trips to places further west like Greensboro or Charlotte. See ncbytrain.org for more details.

FREE CAMPUS SERVICES TO AND FROM CHAPEL HILL

Most UNC students don’t qualify for a GoPass, but they don’t have it so bad when it comes to free transit. Thanks to a joint program between N.C. State’s and UNC’s biomedical engineering programs, there’s a free shuttle that runs between State’s Centennial Campus and UNC’s School of Medicine (not exactly the center of either campus, but hey, it’s free). All you need is a sticker on your State or UNC student ID from your school’s BME department (you don’t have to be a student in the department to get it). Getting to Duke is even easier. GoTriangle operates a UNC-Duke shuttle, the Robertson Express, which is free for anyone with a Duke or UNC ID.

GETTING TO THE AIRPORT

Before and after breaks, campus transit systems offer shuttles to and from RDU International Airport. Check your email as Thanksgiving, spring break, and winter break approach.

ON-CAMPUS BUS SYSTEMS

The Triangle’s largest campuses have extensive on-campus transit options. There are dozens of routes operated by on-campus transit authorities to get you around, but here are some routes you need to know as a first-year.

Weekday routes loop around campus and will get you from your dorm to classes and back. Routes with an “R” run similarly to their normal counterparts, but in reverse.

Weekend routes are similar to weekday routes but have limited service.

After-hours transit at UNC and Duke is useful for when you’re coming back from a long night. (Sorry, Wolfpack.)

Duke

Weekdays: Duke Transit C1, C2

Weekends: Duke Transit CCX

After-hours: Duke vans (on-demand shuttles, 5:00 p.m. to 6:45 a.m.)

UNC-Chapel Hill

Weekdays: Chapel Hill Transit U/RU

Weekends: Chapel Hill Transit U

After-hours: P2P Express (similar route to U, 7 p.m. to 4 a.m.)

N.C. State

Weekdays: Wolfine #7 Wolflink Shuttle/#7R

Weekends: Wolfine #7 Wolflink Shuttle

N.C. Central

Weekdays: Maroon shuttle (8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.), Gray shuttle (7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.)