RALEIGH, N.C. -- The topic of public transportation in the Triangle drew a packed audience at the McKimmon Center at North Carolina State University Thursday night.

 

 

The forum was held to focus attention on improving the area's public transit system.

 

With gas prices hovering around $4 a gallon, people are starting to look for public transportation options.

 

“I definitely think that the interest in transit has risen exponentially as the price of gas has gone up,” Jennifer Lewis with "Wake Up Wake County" said.

 

They are the lead group that helped organize the forum.

 

Bus ridership in the Triangle is reportedly up by about 20 percent.

 

But for those who are turning to Triangle bus routes right now, they quickly realize the system’s limitations.

 

“The point of the forum is to get people thinking about transit and to raise awareness about the recommendations that are out there on the table,” Jennifer Lewis said.

 

In April of this year, the Special Transit Authority Commission made several recommendations for expanding bus service, regional rail service and light rail service. But they are recommendations that will cost money.

 

 “There's been a big movement in the Triangle in particular, a lot of interest in public transportation, but when you get down to it, the money hasn't been there,” Shanna Becker with the North Carolina Public Interest Research Group said.

 

There is a bill pending in the General Assembly that would allow local governments to raise funds for public transportation.

 

But not everyone at the forum was sold on spending millions of dollars on public transportation.

 

“It's not feasible for me, as well as for most, almost all Wake county residents to take that type of transportation, it just doesn't work and it doesn't make sense in this region,” Raleigh resident Joey Stansbury said.