WAS great. I visited Durham a couple times per year and would enjoy the simplicity of just getting on and off. Covered most of my transportation needs once in town. Would be nice if web services were updated. My navigator had me using...pretty silly for such a well educated town. Some web sites still exist. The visitor info center and a major hotel could not explain rationale or whether expected to return. The White House and congress should take lessons in leak avoidance from Durham's leaders. read more

Oh, Alexa S., I'm here and I'm ready to complain about this "free" bus. I'm pretty sure my tax dollars as a resident of Durham (downtown at that) and the fact my employer contributes a major portion of BCC's operating budget so employees like me can utilize it are reasons this service is paid for and can be complained about. They've been trying to improve it by simplifying to the route to eliminate how confusing and nonsensical it was and removing the transit station stop to eliminate delays. However, it is still very delayed and the service is awful. I've tried using the bus probably a dozen times to get from Duke Hospital to downtown and I often find myself waiting 30-45 minutes. One time I literally waited so long that I started walking the two miles from the hospital to my apartment. I walked along the same path the bus takes and didn't even see a bus pass me during my walk. This wouldn't have been bad if it wasn't 98 degrees in the hot summer sun and I was in work clothes. The "average" time might be 17 minutes (doubtful), but what usually happens is the buses are so poorly planned that the two buses are literally 3 stops away from each other. So often times you're waiting a long time for the bus and another one will be right behind it. This is absolutely useless, makes no sense, and a waste of having two buses. The bus stop running at 9pm on Saturdays, which doesn't suit how much downtown Durham is growing into a cool night spot. The bus drivers are also not very helpful, they're as brusque as transit operators in a city 10x the size of Durham. Once I was walking from Sam's Quik at night and trying to catch the bus, but there is a big gap in between stops around there. A bus passed by and I had to chase it all the way to the stop across from Whole Foods on Main St before they would pick me up. Thank god for red lights! I've never seen a small city bus driver so rude that they knew you were trying to get on their bus, but tried their best not to pick you up. It was also super crappy because there's no sidewalk on that area of Main St so I was literally running in the dark through the mud to catch this bus. In summary, BCC's has bad service, the buses are poorly planned and right behind each other, and expect to wait a long time for a bus. Durham, fix this situation because it is a joke. If you need an example of what works, the R-Line in Raleigh is great and much loved. read more

I was really excited about the BCC -- free transportation connecting my neighborhood with downtown and American Tobacco. Since I don't have a bike (yet), I thought it would be a great alternative to hoofing it on those occasions when you want to wear heels... or just be lazy. Unfortunately my first foray was not all I'd hoped for. We got to our stop, checked the sign which seemed to indicate the bus would arrive every 15 minutes, and waited... and waited... and... then we see one coming in the opposite direction; so we think, surely, ours is just around the corner. But, alas, no... and *then* -- a SECOND bus passes by on the route in the opposing direction. What the heck?! At this point we've waited a full 30 minutes, and simply could have walked to our destination more quickly. But on principle, naturally, couldn't leave our post having already invested so much time in it. And I was bound & determined to have my first BCC ride! At long last, it pulls up. We board and join about 10 other passengers, winding our way down Main, around a loop, until we depart at the Corcoran St stop. The buses are new, clean, and they're hybrid! But, dudes, I have some suggestions: 1) Invest in an iPhone app like Raleigh's RLine that tracks the buses' locations in real-time, so you're never stranded at a stop wondering if you've just missed the bus, or if you're better off walking or taking your chances waiting. 2) signage: (and I may have just overlooked this) but the website indicates that post 6pm, the bus only circulates every 20 minutes, rather than every 15 (which I'd read on the sign). By that timeline, it was still quite late on our route, but at least we wouldn't have been growing impatient on the assumption that it should be pulling up every quarter-hour. read more

It's a fare free bus, so no one shouldn't be complaining that much. It runs every 15 minutes in each direction. Good for those who want to explore Durham's historic areas without wasting a dime or walking pain. Highly recommend. Also stops at major transit hub (DATA/TTA buses, Greyhound, Amtrak, Megabus). read more

I realize the previous post is 2 years old, but just wanted to let everyone know that the BCC is on GoLive, the real-time arrival tool from Transloc and GoTriangle. You can get the app here: http://triangle.transloc.com/info/mobile You can also see where the bus is from your computer or mobile browser. Just go to http://triangle.transloc.com/ and click on Durham Area Transit Authority to see the DATA routes; the BCC is at the bottom of the list. read more