Central Durham's Bus Rapid Transit System aims to ease crowding in Wellons Village

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- On any given day, you can find Kierra Randolph and her children at the Wellons Village bus stop in east Durham. Randolph rides the bus daily and has input on the new Central Durham Bus Rapid Transit System.

"That's going to be good. It'll help me out and be more convenient for me. That means I don't have to ride the bus that long," she said.

The Central Durham Bus Rapid Transit System (BRT) will run from Wellons Village through downtown and end at the Duke University and VA Medical Center campus. City leaders say they believe it will deliver frequent, fast and reliable transit to residents. They told ABC11 that Wellons Village has the highest ridership in Durham and serves an estimated 3,000 riders a day.

"Can we shave off the time folks spend getting to work or medical appointments? We're using dedicated lanes and other transit signal priorities. The traffic signals will give buses extra green time, said Durham Director of Transportation Sean Egan.

Egan said he and his team have been monitoring developments around Raleigh's BRT on the Wake New Bern Corridor. The team said it believes the new transit system will eliminate the stress of driving and parking.

"Our Mayor Pro Tempore (Mark-Anthony Middleton) likes to say, the test of a great American city is if you can get to where you want to go without having a car," he said.

If it gets riders like Randolph and her children to their destination quicker, she's all for it.

"They don't like to be on the bus that long. It's hard to maintain all of them," said Randolph.