Contact: Libby James, Public Transportation Manager
(336) 373-2820
Kevin Elwood, Strategic Information Specialist
(336) 412-6309

Greensboro Transit Authority's HEAT Service Releases Status Report
Ridership on track to meet projected yearly numbers

GREENSBORO – Greensboro Transit Authority and Greensboro Department of Transportation have released to City Council the first status report on Higher Education Area Transit (HEAT). The report finds HEAT has provided over 125,000 passenger trips as of November 11, 2006. Students from all eight of the major local college campuses have used HEAT and GTA for access to classes, employment, recreation and much more while reducing traffic on Greensboro’s roadways and campuses.   

Students using fare-free access as part of their school partnerships with HEAT took almost 50,000 trips on the six new HEAT routes between the Greensboro and Jamestown school campuses and other select stops. In addition, these same students took over 75,000 trips on the GTA system to and from locations such as the High Point Road and Wendover Avenue areas. HEAT use by current GTA riders is also growing, totaling nearly 6,000 passenger trips by November 11. GTA patrons were well informed that the HEAT service is open to all riders, and accordingly they have used HEAT to meet their transit needs.

The Council report also outlines usage of the HEAT website, which has seen over 800,000 hits as of October 31. HEAT users, primarily high Internet users, have become very comfortable with visiting rideheat.com as their source of information and have used the available timetables to plan travel accordingly.

“It is wonderful to see that all of the effort put into HEAT by the City Council, institutional partners and staff is paying off for the overall community,” said Libby James, Public Transportation Manager. “In a little over three months, we are almost halfway to our yearly goals. Our students are becoming well acclimated to the use of public transportation, and that bodes well for the future of our public transportation system. And of course, our GTA riders are taking advantage of the additional routes as well.”

Demand for HEAT rose sharply upon the start of fall semester classes due to effective transit planning, successful technical innovations and aggressive promotion. A number of service enhancements were made to meet rider needs including vehicle sizes and service frequencies.  Most recently, transit shelters have been installed at select stops to protect waiting passengers from inclement weather.

The HEAT service, supported primarily by federal and state grants, is an innovative partnership between Greensboro Transit Authority, the City of Greensboro and the following financially supporting institutions: Bennett College for Women, Elon University School of Law, Greensboro College, Guilford College, Guilford Technical Community College and The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

The Greensboro Department of Transportation (GDOT) seeks to increase public safety and mobility through the effective planning and delivery of transportation services and operation of municipal transit.  For more information about GDOT, contact us at (336) 373-GDOT (4368) or visit www.greensboro-nc.gov/gdot

The City of Greensboro works in partnership with the community to build an increased quality of life for all residents by fostering an environment where inclusion, diversity, and trust are valued.  As the seventh largest employer in Greensboro, the City has a dedicated professional staff of 2700 employees who maintain four core values of honesty, integrity, stewardship, and respect.  The City of Greensboro is governed by a council-manager form of government where a mayor and eight council members act as the legislative body.  For more information on the City of Greensboro, please visit us online at www.greensboro-nc.gov

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