Campus-City Connector

When students returned to campus this fall, they found it easier to get from campus to downtown shops, dining, and entertainment, thanks to a new free bus service run by the city in partnership with Duke.

The Bull City Connector, which began operating in August, runs from Trent Drive on West Campus to the recently renovated Golden Belt urban arts campus on Main Street, east of downtown. The route includes stops near Ninth Street and Brightleaf Square and at a number of other points along Main Street.

Welcome to the neighborhood: New transit option makes exploring downtown Durham even easier. Chris Hildreth

The buses run every fifteen minutes on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and every twenty minutes from 6 p.m. to midnight. On Saturdays, buses run every twenty minutes from 7 a.m. to midnight. The service does not operate on Sundays.

While the city is responsible for operating and maintaining the bus service, Duke provided $375,000 in matching funds so the city could receive a $3 million federal grant to buy six new hybrid-diesel buses to be used on the route. The buses are scheduled to arrive in late 2011 or early 2012. Until then, hybrid buses already in the city’s fleet are being used. Duke is also contributing toward the annual operating costs of the service.