FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THURSDAY, OCT. 9, 2008

More options added to N.C. State Fair
alternative transportation schedule

RALEIGH – With a new park-and-ride location and more days of bus service, you have additional options for getting to the N.C. State Fair this year.

Fairgoers are strongly encouraged to take advantage of these gas-saving opportunities. For every bus ticket purchased, fairgoers will receive a $10 coupon book good at any Subway restaurant, while supplies last.

McLaurin Parking Co. will operate a new park-and-ride location in Garner at the old Wal-Mart shopping center near the intersection of U.S. highways 401 and 70. The Garner shuttle will run every 20 minutes on Fridays and Sundays from 8:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to midnight.

Capital Area Transit will offer two 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 Interstate 440 Beltline, and at the WakeMed Soccer Park, exit 291 off I-40 in Cary. The North Raleigh and Cary shuttles will operate every 20 to 30 minutes each day of the Fair from 8:30 a.m. to midnight. The exception is Thursday, Oct. 16, when shuttles will run from 2 p.m. to midnight.

Follow the green State Fair signs to the Garner, North Raleigh and Cary park-and-ride locations.

In downtown Raleigh, look for the blue State Fair signs to catch a CAT shuttle along Edenton, Morgan and Hillsborough streets. The shuttles will run from 2 p.m. to midnight Oct. 16 and from 7 a.m. until midnight Oct. 17-26.

Fare for all McLaurin and CAT bus services is $4 per person round-trip and $3 one-way. Exact change is required. Seniors age 65 and older and persons with disabilities pay $2 round-trip. 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 State Fairgrounds.

Durham Area Transit expands service to State Fair

The Durham Area Transit Authority has expanded its State Fair bus service and will offer shuttles from the Downtown Terminal on the hour from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day, except Sundays when service will run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Regular fare is $2 round-trip or $1 one-way. The TRANSPASS and GoPass agreements do not include State Fair service, but a discounted round-trip fare of $1 is available for riders with a DATA ID or Medicare card. Senior citizens ages 65 and older and children ages 12 and under ride free.  DATA will drop off and pick up at Gate 2 of the fairgrounds.

Triangle Transit offers weekend bus service to fairgrounds

On Saturdays and Sundays, Triangle Transit will offer Express bus service from the Eubanks Road park-and-ride lot, located in northern Chapel Hill, one-half mile west of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard/N.C. Highway 86, and from the Triangle Transit Regional Transit Center, located at 6 Park Drive in Research Triangle Park, near the intersection of Davis Drive and N.C. Highway 54.

The Eubanks Road park-and-ride shuttle will depart on the hour from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays. Service from the Regional Transit Center will depart every 30 minutes from 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Saturdays and from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sundays. Fare is $5 per person round-trip. Seniors age 65 and older and persons with disabilities are $2.50 round-trip, and children 12 and under ride free. Triangle Transit will drop off and pick up at Gate 8 of the fairgrounds.

Amtrak delivers to fairgrounds

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 about 10:50 a.m. The Southbound Carolinian (train No. 79) departs from the fairgrounds for the return trip at 4:57 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 of the Fair except Oct. 16. Parking is free in state-owned lots.

For more information about transportation and parking, visit www.ncstatefair.org. The State Fair runs Oct. 16-26.

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