Alternative transportation to N.C. State Fair pays off
for pocketbook with $10 in Subway coupons

RALEIGH – This year, it pays off for the environment and the pocketbook to use alternative transportation to get to the N.C. State Fair. For every bus ticket purchased, fairgoers will receive a $10 coupon book good at any Subway restaurant, as long as supplies last.

In Raleigh, Capital Area Transit will provide service from two park-and-ride locations, as well as stops along Hillsborough Street. Look for blue State Fair signs along Hillsborough to catch a ride. The Hillsborough Street shuttle runs from 7 a.m. until midnight, Oct. 12-21.

Follow the green State Fair signs to the two CAT park-and-ride locations: at the ITB Holdings Building at the corner of Wake Forest and Six Forks roads in Raleigh, just south of the I-440 Beltline, and at the SAS Soccer Park, exit 291 off Interstate 40 in Cary. The North Raleigh and Cary shuttles will operate every 20 to 30 minutes each day during the Fair from 8:30 a.m. until midnight. Fare is $4 per person round-trip and $3 per person one-way. Exact change is required. Children under 40 inches tall ride free with a fare-paying adult. All passengers will be dropped off and picked up at Gate 1 of the fairgrounds.

In Durham, the Durham Area Transit Authority will offer service from the Downtown Terminal on Tuesday, Thursday, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Shuttle service will run on the
hour from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, as well as Tuesday, Oct. 17, and Thursday, Oct. 19. Sunday shuttles from Durham will begin at 10 a.m. and continue until 5 p.m. Regular fare is $4 round-trip. The TRANSPASS and GoPass agreements do not include State Fair service, but a discounted fare of $2 is available for riders with a DATA ID or Medicare card. Senior citizens ages 65 and up and youth 12 and under ride free.

From Chapel Hill or Research Triangle Park, you can catch a ride with Triangle Transit Authority on both Saturdays. The Express Service will run from the Eubanks Road Park-and-Ride Lot in Chapel Hill and the TTA Transfer Center in Research Triangle Park. Express buses will depart on the hour from Eubanks Road Park-and-Ride between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. Buses will depart at 30 minutes past the hour from the TTA Transfer Center in RTP between 9:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Buses will return from the State Fairgrounds on the hour between noon and midnight. The TTA express bus ticket price will be $5 round-trip for individuals over the age of 12. Youth ages 12 and younger ride free. Seniors (65 or older) and persons with disability pay $2.50 round-trip. The Eubanks Road Park-and-Ride lot is located on Eubanks Road in northern Chapel Hill, one-half mile west of Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. (NC 86). The TTA Transfer Center is located at 6 Park Drive, near the intersection of Davis Drive and NC 54.

Fairgoers west of the Triangle can also catch the Amtrak Carolinian. The Northbound Carolinian (train No. 80) leaves Charlotte at 7:40 a.m., with stops in Kannapolis, Salisbury, High Point, Greensboro, Burlington, Durham, Cary, State Fairgrounds and Raleigh. The train will arrive at the Blue Ridge Road stop directly across from the fairgrounds at 10:49 a.m. The Southbound Carolinian (train No. 79) departs from the fairgrounds location for the return trip at 4:56 p.m. To make reservations, visit www.amtrak.com or call 1-800-USA-RAIL and use fare code NSF. For more information, visit www.bytrain.org.

Visitors driving to the State Fair are encouraged to take Wade Avenue to the Edwards Mill Extension and park in the free parking lots at Carter-Finley Stadium and the RBC Center. These lots will be available every day throughout the Fair. Parking is free in state-owned lots.

The State Fair runs Oct. 12 through the 21. For more information concerning transportation and parking, visit the N.C. State Fair Web site at www.ncstatefair.org.

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Alternative transportation to N.C. State Fair pays off for pocketbook with $10 in Subway coupons

Alternative transportation to N.C. State Fair pays off
for pocketbook with $10 in Subway coupons