Link Transit will be expanding its operating service into the city of Mebane, N.C. on Sept. 30. The Burlington City Council and Mebane City Council approved a new interlocal agreement to bring Link Transit’s Orange Route 2 and its complementary paratransit service to the city of Mebane for a one-year trial period. With the latest expansion, Link Transit will now serve residents and visitors in Burlington, Gibsonville, the town of Elon, Elon University, Alamance Community College, Alamance County Government Offices and Mebane.
The Orange Route 2 extension will bring Link Transit services to the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART) Park and Ride lot near the Tanger Outlets. From that lot, riders can catch the GoTriangle ODX route to Durham, PART service to Chapel Hill and Orange County Public Transit service to locations throughout Orange County. Riders will also be able to take Link Transit to locations throughout Alamance County, including Alamance Community College, the Burlington Train Station, downtown Burlington, downtown Gibsonville, downtown Elon, Elon University and Alamance Regional Medical Center.
"Since Burlington first launched Link Transit in 2016 in partnership with Gibsonville and Alamance Community College, our goal has been to provide a robust, affordable, accessible public transit service for our community," said Burlington Mayor Jim Butler. "With new partnerships providing expanded service first to the town of Elon and now to the city of Mebane, we are making important progress towards that goal."
Buses operate Monday through Friday from 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Saturday from 9:30am to 6:30pm. Buses run every 90 minutes. The city of Mebane and Link Transit will evaluate the performance of the new extended route in 2025 to determine future continuation of service. It is anticipated that Orange County Public Transit will start a circulator route within Mebane for local service that Link Transit passengers can connect to in January 2025.
Link Transit’s paratransit services will be available to those with disabilities that prevent them from boarding a bus or accessing a bus stop. Link Transit and Elon University recently entered a partnership that allows Elon University affiliates such as students, employees and faculty members to ride Link Transit free by showing their ID card to the bus driver. Elon University will reimburse each passenger trip back to Link Transit at the current fare. The partnership is intended to increase access to Elon University affiliates for travel throughout the Link Transit service area.
