GoCary (C-Tran) History
June 30, 2000: A Transportation Task Force Report was developed by the Council-appointed "Cary Senior Citizens and Citizens with Disabilities Task Force". This report provided the direction Council needed to establish Cary's first public transportation system.
August 2001: After a year of planning, C-Tran began providing Door to Door transportation services for seniors (age 60+) and persons with disabilities. This service also included out of town trips for medical appointments, employment trips, and for those enrolled in school.
July 2002: C-Tran expanded service to the general public. The Town hired its first full-time transportation coordinator in July 2003 to handle all planning, administration, marketing, grants management, and oversight of transit operations.
February 2005: Cary's Town Council approved a Fixed Route system, comprised of five routes, to augment the Door to Door services. As part of this shift, the general public was no longer eligible for Door to Door services.
July 2007: C-Tran added a second Maynard Loop route, traveling in a counter-clockwise direction, with service to Cary Towne Center and Crossroads Shopping Center. The Town hired a second staff member to assist the Transit Services Administrator with day-to-day operations. Also in 2007, passenger shelters were installed at the most frequently used bus stops. The shelters are made of etched glass panels that are unique to each route, and incorporate designs found in historic homes throughout Cary.
September 2009: Council approved a service expansion of Route 4 along High House Road, extending it to Highway 55. In addition, Route 6 was extended to provide service to Western Boulevard in Raleigh.
December 2010: The Town completed the installation of automated passenger counters (APC's) on its fixed route buses.
March 2012: C-Tran began utilizing new electronic fareboxes.
March 2013: Cary continues to enhance the customer experience with the installation of real-time bus tracking technology on all fixed route buses. This allows customers to track their bus live, through an app on their smartphone. Predicted arrival times are available through the app, or by text message using a unique stop ID code.
November 2013: The Transit division hired a Transit Planner. In February 2013, C-Tran reached the significant milestone of providing more than one-million passenger trips on fixed route services.
October 2016: C-Tran was re-branded to "GoCary" for fixed route service and "GoCary Door to Door" as part of a regional branding initiative.
August 2018: Sunday service and increased weekday fixed route trips were added as part of the Wake Transit 10-Year Bus Plan.
January 2021: GoCary implemented system-wide service changes to improve on-time performance, add new routes, and enhance connections at the Cary Depot. A new Route 7 was added to serve Weston Parkway and the ACX was added to connect downtown Cary with downtown Apex.
October 2021: The Morrisville Smart Shuttle, operated by GoCary, began service.
July 2022: GoApex Route 1, operated by GoCary, began service.
June 2024: The Downtown Loop began service, providing more access to downtown attractions and parking options.
November 2025: Route 2 (Cary-West Raleigh) begins service, connecting downtown Cary, NC State University Centennial Biomedical Campus, and the North Carolina State Fairgrounds. Route 9 (Cary-Apex) replaces the ACX with all-day service between downtown Cary and downtown Apex.
June 2026: Cary awards a contract for construction of the GoCary Bus Operations and Maintenance Facility to Swinerton Builders. This 85,000 square foot facility incorporates administrative space for Cary staff, operations and maintenance space for GoCary's service provider, and a separate fuel and wash station. The attached deck provides protected parking for transit vehicles, providing cover from the elements and separation from employee and visitor parking.
GoCary has provided more than 5.75 million fixed route and Door to Door passenger trips since its inception in 2001!