Welcome to the Wake Transit Engagement Hub. 

Click the tabs above to learn more about what Wake Transit is, what the program does, current activities and sign-up to stay involved in local and regional transit planning decisions.

What is Wake Transit?

In the simplest of terms, Wake Transit is a funding program that, through an ongoing, coordinated and complex process, identifies transit needs in Wake County and provides funding to resolve them. 

Program goals, defined in the Wake Transit Plan, are to improve and expand transportation options for those traveling to, through and within the county. The Wake Transit program includes a wide variety of tasks that are undertaken in order to bring that vision into reality. 

How are decisions made?

The Wake County Transit Planning Advisory Committee (TPAC) is responsible for implementation of the Wake Transit Plan and all of the components there of. Activities are guided by an Interlocal Governance Agreement (ILA) that was signed by Wake County, CAMPO and GoTriangle in 2016. The Transit Plan and all other major plans and policies are developed by the TPAC, but must be approved by the two Wake Transit governing boards, the CAMPO Executive Board and GoTriangle Board of Trustees. 

There are 17 voting members on the TPAC: Apex, Cary, CAMPO, Fuquay-Varina, Garner, GoTriangle, Holly Springs, Knightdale, Morrisville, NS State University, Raleigh, Reaserch Triangle Foundation, Rolesville, Wake County, Wake Forest, Wendell and Zebulon.

Throughout the year, the TPAC and lead agency staff work to create and update planning documents, policies and other materials necessary for implementation of the Wake Transit Plan and the community is encouraged to participate in the planning and decision-making process.  

Core Planning Documents:

The Wake Transit Plan outlines a 10-year vision for transit improvement and expansion across Wake County. 

Every activity and project that is funded or accomplished as part of the Wake Transit program must support reaching these overarching goals of the Wake Transit Plan.

The 2035 Wake Transit Plan is anticipated to be adopted in November 2025. Visit the 2035 Wake Transit Plan project page for more information and view the 2025-2035 story map to see how proposed investment will grow our transit network.  

The Wake Bus Plan is a year-by-year investment strategy that matches the planning period of the Wake Transit Plan.  It focuses on scheduling bus route expansion and other rider services as well as establishing a schedule for building transit facilities like bus stops, transit centers, and multi-modal hubs needed to support those services. The Bus Plan takes the vision outlined in the Wake Transit Plan and breaks it down into annual activities to achieve the final goals. A major part of the Bus Plan update process is developing provider- specific Short-Range Transit Plans for GoRaleigh, GoCary and GoTriangle. These 5-year plans are very specific. They tell planners and the community what investments are programmed to receive Wake Transit funding, when they are expected to begin and for construction projects, when they are expected to be complete. 

The Wake Bus Plan update process is expected to kickoff in January 2026. It will expand the Multiyear Operating Program (MYOP) and Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) out through FY3035 and the final deliverables will include short-range transit plans covering the years FY2028-2032. Watch the Get Involved page for more details once the project site goes live. 

Each year, the Wake Transit Work Plan is developed and adopted by the two Wake Transit governing boards, CAMPO and GoTriangle. Projects identified in the Wake Transit Plan, that are further defined in the Bus Plan are evaluated to ensure that they are ready to move forward as scheduled each year. The Work Plan is financially constrained, meaning the projects approved for funding must fit in the budget available to be spent that year. The Work Plan has two core components. Part 1 is the list of operating and capital projects that will receive funding in the next fiscal year (July-June). Part 2 contains the vision for multiyear investment through the planning period covered by the Wake Transit Plan. The Work Plan is typically around 200 pages with half being information about the upcoming year's projects and budget and the second half being tables and information related to future year programmed funding.

Annual Wake Transit Work Plan information can be found on the Work Plans Webpage. Previous year plans are posted and information about quarterly amendment cycles and the planning process for next year's plan are available. 

Program vs Project Work Tasks

Program-level work like updating Wake Transit plans, developing new polices and procedures, and managing TPAC activities is primarily split between staff at CAMPO and GoTriangle. CAMPO typically leads the planning and coordination work while GoTriangle, who is the Wake Transit Tax District Administrator, manages the money including tracking the budget, processing partner reimbursement requests and compiling progress reports. Program-level work is assigned in the ILA or has evaolved through years of program adminstration. Results of program-level activities require TPAC and/or governing board approval since they often apply program-wide, have impact the the Wake Transit financial model, are assigning additional staff responsibilities or otherwise will change how Wake Transit business is being done or how decisions are being made. 

Project-level work includes tasks that apply most often to one agency's work to improve or expand transit options in their community. Tasks are funded in the annual Work Plan with regular Wake Transit funds or funds set aside for CFA Program recipients. The proejct sponsor agency provides the staff needed to accomplish the project and provides progres updates the the TPAC. There are a few rare exceptions, but typically no TPAC or governing board approval is required for project-level work. 

How are projects funded?

Wake Transit funds come from a variety of sources, but the vast majority of the money is collected through the Article 43, transit-deidcated, 1/2 cent sales tax. Other sources include a portion of vehicle rental fees collected by Wake County and GoTriangle as well as federal and state funds allocated to support Wake Transit projects. 

The Research Triangle Region is one of our country’s fastest growing and most dynamic urban areas. Transit continues to be identified as a priority investment in all three Triangle counties (Wake, Durham and Orange).

Wake County was last to develop its countywide transit plan and to get voter approval for transit-dedicated Article 43 funding. The Wake planning process also tends to be bit more complex due to a significantly higher annual budget and more parties involved in the decision-making and administration processes. There are a lot of checks and balances and a strong, shared sense of fiscal responsibility as partners work together to allocate over $150 million of tax-payer dollars each year. 

Click to view information from our partner transit plans: Durham Transit Plan     Orange Transit Plan