City weighs hub‑and‑spoke tradeoffs with studies for grid, BRT and park‑and‑ride options

Patel, transportation transit, said Raleigh’s network historically grew as a radial hub-and-spoke system focused on downtown. He told councilors that origin–destination data (2023) indicates 32% of riders transfer within the system and that about 70% of those transfers happen at GoRaleigh Station — a finding staff say supports the station’s current role as the primary transfer hub.

Staff described tradeoffs for a gridded system that would provide more point-to-point, cross-town connections but require capital investments to create decentralized transfer nodes and new infrastructure. Patel said Wake Transit’s bus-planning work includes proposals for cross-town links — for example a potential Centennial Campus–Midtown connection — and that the Wake Transit on-call planning services could be used for an in-depth study of grid feasibility and station location alternatives.

Councilors discussed intermediate operational options: bus rapid transit (BRT) trunk lines that would stop around the block instead of pulling into Moore Square, shifting some routes to Raleigh Union Station and identifying strategic park-and-ride nodes. Patel noted real-estate constraints and Wake Transit programming rules limit how quickly large capital nodes can be added, but staff said 1–3 year operational changes (route shifts outside of BRT) could be considered to reduce downtown congestion.

Patel emphasized that moving or materially changing a federally funded facility would carry tradeoffs, including potential grant repayment obligations and impacts to Wake Transit capital programming.

Councilors asked staff to pursue short- and mid-term operational options while commissioning a longer-term feasibility study through Wake Transit planning tools if council wants a more structural change.