GoTogether Campaign Highlights Commuter Stories to Promote Travel Options

GoTriangle is excited to launch a new education and awareness campaign, GoTogether, sharing real commuter stories to inspire our community to seek viable travel options to work, school, doctor's appointments and other important places, without driving alone in a car.

“The Triangle is a great place to live, work and play. Because of that, more than a million people already call this region home, and we are growing every day. Rapid growth also means increased congestion and a higher demand for more travel options to support the high quality of life in our community,” said GoTriangle Communications Director Mike Charbonneau. “As Wake, Durham and Orange counties talk about the future of transit, we also want to show our community the options available today to GoTogether.”

Every day thousands of Triangle citizens use a bus, carpool, vanpool, bike, or walk instead of driving alone. Some seek alternatives to save money, relax, be more productive on their commute or to reduce their carbon footprint. Others rely on the transit network to get where they need to go and to connect to greater opportunities. GoTogether highlights the stories of Triangle commuters, from a father and son biking duo to a creative entrepreneur who uses his bus trip to get a jump on the day. Riders share why and how their commute works for them.

Justin Laidlaw takes the bus to Runaway at the American Underground in Durham. Justin says his morning bus ride is a great time to "catch up on morning news, check social media, and even get some work done." He's been riding the bus for seven years and recently discovered the TransLoc app, which allows him to know when the next bus is coming.

As a regional transit planning organization, GoTriangle works closely with its partners GoRaleigh, GoCary, GoDurham and Chapel Hill Transit to connect commuters by bus across three counties. We also support and provide resources for people interested in joining a carpool or vanpool, and those who want to bike or walk instead.

Ben August is a resident of Carrboro and works in downtown Chapel Hill. He loves biking with his son to school each morning before he starts his work day. “We decided to get rid of one of our cars,” August said. “We go together because it is priceless father and son time.”

Having a direct transit connection from Cary to North Carolina State University makes it possible for a brother and sister to attend college, and go together. Computer Science major, Carl Colglazier started using GoTriangle’s Route 300 bus from Cary to the N.C. State University campus a little more than a year ago. “I determined that GoTriangle was a good fit for me because I was looking for something that was affordable and convenient.”

This year Carl’s sister Bethany started joining him on his daily commute. As a freshman studying Industrial Engineering, she, like her brother, found GoTriangle is a good fit. “Using the bus is an easy commute and going together to class works with our schedule.”

Working together we can better connect all people to greater opportunities throughout our rapidly growing community. GoTriangle offers safe, reliable, and easy-to-use travel choices including bus, bike, walking, carpool, and vanpool. Learn more about those resources and hear from the people who GoTogether every day at www.gotogethernc.com.

Contact: Mike Charbonneau, 919-485-7413, mcharbonneau@gotriangle.org or Brad Schulz, 919-485-7434, bschulz@gotriangle.org