Freedom on Tobacco Road

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is only ten miles away from Duke, but it’s about to seem a little further away. The Robertson Express Bus will eliminate its free fare starting this January. The Robertson Scholars Program announced that bus operations will switch from Duke to Triangle Transit, necessitating a $2.50 charge for a one-way ticket.

Duke students will still be eligible to apply for a GoPass through Duke Parking and Transportation, enabling them to ride the bus for free. A more restrictive program at UNC, called the Commuter Alternatives Program, issues free GoPasses selectively. The distribution of GoPasses will hopefully enable regular riders of the Robertson bus to continue without paying a fare.

The Robertson bus will nevertheless seem like a less integral part of Duke and UNC life. Currently, the Robertson bus stops directly at the West Campus bus stop, where it is sometimes mistaken for a C-1. Knowing that simple and free Duke-run transportation to Chapel Hill exists not only means students do not have to jump over financial barriers or psychological barriers. Right now, the Robertson bus allows for spontaneous and casual trips to and from Chapel Hill, no GoPass required. The ease of the current Robertson bus encourages happy intermingling in a way that a bus run by an outside public transportation service might not—take the underused Bull City Connector, for instance. There will be even less intermingling when a fee is imposed, especially for students who do not plan far enough in advance to apply for a GoPass or cannot receive one altogether, which may be the case for some UNC students.

Relinquishing Robertson bus operations to Triangle Transit also means Duke no longer controls how the bus operates—or if it operates as all. Presumably, with Triangle Transit in control, the Robertson bus will now be subject to the local transportation provider’s own metrics for use, efficiency and profitability. If ridership decreases or the bus does not attract enough paying customers, bus operations—which currently runs on a half-hour schedule seven days a week—could be reduced or even eliminated. The many intangible benefits the Robertson bus brings to Duke will not be heavily considered in Triangle Transit’s decision-making.

If there is a chance that Duke can continue operating the bus and keep it free of charge, we encourage them to examine every avenue available. The Robertson bus is a truly valuable piece of Duke infrastructure, providing students, faculty, staff and visitors simple and easy transport to Chapel Hill, a vibrant local community and home to the other premier university in the state. With countless academic courses, arts opportunities and extracurricular events taking place across the two campuses, students have a real incentive to keep the bridge between Duke and UNC as open as possible.

Among the many attempts to bring Duke and UNC closer—from Kenan-Biddle grants to shared freshman summer reading books—the Robertson bus is undeniably the most important. Right now, one can hop on a bus to get to Chapel Hill. In the future, it may be more difficult. Let’s keep the Robertson bus free and easy to use.