GWTA begins route to Wilson
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on January 11, 2016 1:46 PM
The Goldsboro-Wayne Transportation Authority has partnered with Amtrak to begin providing bus connector service between Goldsboro and the Amtrak station in Wilson.
Bus service to Wilson from GWTA's transfer station at 103 N. Carolina St. began today with the first bus leaving at 1:04 p.m. The service will be provided daily.
GWTA Director Fred Fontana said it was his understanding that the cost of riding the bus from Goldsboro to the Amtrak station in Wilson was built into the cost of a train ticket.
"It's my understanding that you can't ride the bus to Wilson unless you have a train ticket," Fontana said.
Amtrak trains themselves will not be running routes through Goldsboro.
The bus providing the connector service starts its route in Wilmington, and Goldsboro is the last stop it makes before arriving in Wilson.
Fontana said GWTA had been trying to get both Amtrak and Greyhound to run routes through the GWTA transfer center, and while Greyhound is still a prospect for the future, Amtrak was anxious to begin providing a bus service to Wilson.
"We talked with the folks at the NCDOT (North Carolina Department of Transportation), and they connected us with the people at Amtrak," Fontana said. "I talked to them and told them we had a new transfer center, and they were anxious to be here. They used to be across the street from us at our old location, and they were very excited to get over to the transfer center."
Fontana said he is not sure which Amtrak train route the bus will be connecting with, but that the bus will return passengers from the Amtrak station in Wilson in the late afternoon.
The benefits for GWTA riders will be substantial, Fontana said, as they will have a reliable mode of transportation if they decide to use Amtrak.
"It's nice because they can take the bus from the transfer center to the Amtrak station and not have to rely on somebody else to get the there," Fontana said. "They can get on one of the buses and not have to rely on someone else to pick them up and drop them off."