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AppalCart

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AppalCART
AppalCART buses in Boone, NC.
FoundedOctober 1981
Headquarters305 Highway 105 Bypass Boone, NC 28607
LocaleNorth Carolina
Service areaBoone and Appalachian State University with service to rural locations throughout Watauga County
Service typeLocal and Student Commuter
Routes24
Stops120
Hubs
  • ASU College Street Station
  • ASU Peacock Traffic Circle
  • Walmart Rural Route Drop-off
Fleet43
Daily ridership1,938,321 annually (2019)
Fuel typeDiesel, gasoline & electric
OperatorWatauga County
Websiteappalcart.com

AppalCART (Appalachian Campus Area Rapid Transit) is a free public bus network located in Boone, North Carolina. It provides fare-free fixed route and paratransit service throughout Appalachian State University and Boone, as well as low-fare van service to other towns within Watauga County.[1] In 2013, AppalCART reported a ridership of 1,712,873 passenger trips.[2] In 2019, it reported 1,938,321 trips.[3]

AppalCART is governed by an 8-member board.[4] The current chairman of the board is Quint David.[5] It receives its funding from a mix of federal, state, local, and Appalachian State University funds.[6]

Routes

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Regular routes

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Regular routes[3][7]
Route name and official color shade Annual ridership (2019) Year-round? Start High-traffic destinations High-traffic corridors served Opposite end[A]
Blue 159,208 ☒N ASU Peacock Traffic Circle
  • ASU Mountaineer Hall
  • ASU Appalachian Heights
  • Bodenheimer Drive
 South Lot / Baseball Stadium
Express 114,688 checkY ASU Peacock Traffic Circle
  • ASU Garwood Hall
  • ASU Convocation Center
  • Boone Mall
  • Walmart
  • Watauga Medical Center
  • The Finmore
  • ASU Mountain Laurel Hall
  • ASU Skywalk
 ASU College of Health Sciences
Gold 16,099 checkY ASU College Street Station
  • Sunway Charters / Dogwood Hall
  • ASU Skywalk
  • ASU Trivette Hall
  • ASU Mountaineer Hall
  • ASU Appalachian Heights
 South Lot / Baseball Stadium
Gray (formerly State Farm Lot Shuttle) 45,813 checkY ASU Child Development Center
  • ASU Living Learning Center
  • ASU Schaefer Center
  • Horn in the West Lot
  • ASU Skywalk
 ASU State Farm Lot
Green 294,372 checkY Hospitality House
  • NC 105 Crosswalk
  • ASU NC 105 Lot
  • ASU Mountain Laurel Hall
  • ASU Schaefer Center
  • ASU College Street Station
  • Watauga High School
  • Mountaineer Village
  • ASU Skywalk
 Cottages of Boone
NC 105 Lot Shuttle 20,023 ☒N ASU NC 105 Lot
  • ASU Dogwood Hall
  • ASU Trivette Hall
 ASU Mountaineer Hall
Orange (Currently suspended due to staffing shortages)[8] 180,396 checkY ASU College Street Station
  • Mountaineer Village
 Brookshire Park Road
Pink 62,773 ☒N ASU Peacock Traffic Circle
  • ASU Garwood Hall
  • ASU Convocation Center
  • Boone Mall
  • Watauga Medical Center
  • The Finmore
  • ASU Mountain Laurel Hall
  • ASU Skywalk
 ASU College of Health Sciences
Pop 105 273,054 checkY AppalCART Headquarters
  • High Country Condos
  • ASU Schaefer Center
  • ASU Convocation Center
  • McDonald's
  • NC 105 Crosswalk
  • University Highlands
  • CCC&TI (After 6:00 PM, until 9:50 PM)
 AppalCART Headquarters
Purple 250,639 checkY ASU Peacock Traffic Circle
  • ASU Garwood Hall
  • ASU Convocation Center
  • Boone Mall
  • The Village at Meadowview
  • ASU Mountain Laurel Hall
  • ASU Skywalk
Red 366,604 checkY AppalCART Headquarters
  • High Country Condos
  • ASU College Street Station
  • Walmart
  • Watauga Medical Center
  • Quail Drive
 ASU College of Health Sciences
Silver 58,385 ☒N Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute
  • Studio West
  • ASU NC 105 Lot
  • ASU Mountain Laurel Hall
  • ASU Skywalk
  • Pinnacle Drive
 Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute
State Farm Lot Shuttle No data (Established 2023) ☒N ASU Trivette Hall
  • ASU Skywalk
  • Sunway Charters / ASU Dogwood Hall
  • ASU College Street Station
  • Quail Drive
  • Rivers Street
  • Hardin Street / US 321[C]
  • State Farm Road
 ASU State Farm Lot
Wellness District 41,535 ☒N ASU College of Health Sciences
  • The Finmore
  • Watauga Medical Center
  • State Farm Road
 ASU College of Health Sciences
Total annual ridership (including Night Owl routes and irregular routes such as Game Day routes) (2019): 1,938,321 - - - - -

Night Owl routes

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Night Owl routes[3][7]
Route name and official color shade Annual ridership (2019)[D] Year-round? Start High-traffic destinations High-traffic corridors served Opposite end
Express 3,163 ☒N ASU Peacock Traffic Circle
  • ASU Garwood Hall
  • ASU Convocation Center
  • Boone Mall
  • Walmart
  • Watauga Medical Center
  • The Finmore
  • ASU Mountain Laurel Hall
  • ASU Skywalk
 The Village at Meadowview
Gold 2,548 ☒N ASU College Street Station
  • Sunway Charters / Dogwood Hall
  • ASU Skywalk
  • ASU Trivette Hall
  • ASU Mountaineer Hall
  • ASU Appalachian Heights
 South Lot / Baseball Stadium
Pop 105 3,517 ☒N AppalCART Headquarters
  • High Country Condos
  • ASU Schaefer Center
  • ASU Convocation Center
  • McDonald's
  • NC 105 Crosswalk
  • University Highlands
 AppalCART Headquarters
Total annual ridership (2019) 9,137 - - - - -

Game Day routes

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In addition to the above routes, AppalCART operates seven game day routes: Gray, Express, Purple, Orange, Blue, Gold, and the Disability Shuttle, totaling 24 routes on the system. There are three stops only served by these routes: Poplar Grove Connector Parking Lot, ASU Hill Street Lot, and ASU Stadium East Gate, totaling 120 stops on the entire system.[9]

Former routes

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Former routes[10][11]
Route name and official color shade Fate Active from Year-round? Start High-traffic destinations High-traffic corridors served Opposite end
Blowing Rock Low ridership May 2018–Aug 2021 ☒N(Weekends May-Aug only) Tanger Outlets
  • Morris Street
  • Holiday Inn Express
  • The Village Inn
 Green Park Inn
Gray (1st version)[E] Staffing shortages[12] Aug 2021–Sep 2021 ☒N Caldwell Community College

& Technical Institute

  • Studio West
  • ASU NC 105 Lot
  • ASU Mountain Laurel Hall
  • ASU Skywalk
  • Pinnacle Drive
 Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute
Green East Merged with Teal to become Green Route[13] ?–Aug 2018 checkY ASU College Street Station
  • Mountaineer Village
 Hospitality House
Green West Merged with Red[13] ?–Aug 2018 checkY ASU College Street Station
  • Kensington Apartments
  • High Country Condos
 Old Bristol Road / US 421 near NC 105 Bypass
Orange Night Owl Staffing shortages, COVID-19 pandemic[14] Aug 2019–Nov 2019 ☒N ASU College Street Station
  • Mountaineer Village
 Brookshire Park Road
Teal Merged with Green East to become Green Route[13] Aug 2013–Aug 2018 checkY ASU Peacock Traffic Circle
  • Studio West
  • NC 105 Crosswalk
  • ASU Appalachian Panhellenic Hall
  • ASU Skywalk
  • ASU Convocation Center
 Cottages of Boone
Night Owl Unknown ?–Mid-2001 No data archived No data archived No data archived No data archived No data archived

References

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  1. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-01-09. Retrieved 2014-01-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ "AppalCART Reports Record Ridership Once Again of 1,712,873 Passenger Trips; Six Percent Increase Over 2012 | High Country Press". www.hcpress.com. 9 January 2014. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
  3. ^ a b c "Statistics". AppalCART. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  4. ^ "Our Board". AppalCart - Boone, NC Public Transportation. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
  5. ^ "Board | Appalcart". Archived from the original on 2014-01-09. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  6. ^ "Alternative Transportation: Mass Transit | Sustain Appalachian". Archived from the original on 2014-01-10. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  7. ^ a b "Route Maps and Schedules". AppalCART. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  8. ^ Patterson, Siri; Edwards, Madalyn (2023-08-26). "AppalCart introduces new mobile app, changes to routes". The Appalachian. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  9. ^ "Game Day Routes". AppalCART. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  10. ^ web.archive.org https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.appalcart.com*. Retrieved 2023-11-27. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ^ https://www.raphaelwenger.com/appalcart/schedules&routes.pdf
  12. ^ Markland, Jake; Broyles, Emily (2021-08-30). "Driver shortage causes shift in AppalCart routes". The Appalachian. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  13. ^ a b c Reece, Kenneth (2018-06-21). "AppalCART Proposed Fixed Route Changes For August 13, 2018". WataugaOnline.com. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  14. ^ Broyles, Emily; Holiday, Gianna (2020-11-08). "AppalCart seeks public input on Night Owl services after decrease in activity". The Appalachian. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  1. ^ Not all AppalCART routes are perfectly linear; some loop back on themselves and/or have branches.
  2. ^ NC 105 Lot Shuttle drives on routes such as US 221, but it does not make stops associated with all of the roads it uses.
  3. ^ State Farm Lot Shuttle drives on routes such as US 221, but it does not make stops associated with all of the roads it uses.
  4. ^ In 2019, Night Owl routes only ran August through November. From 2021 onwards, they run August through May. As such, these figures are inaccurate for the present day and are likely much higher, however, no data is available.
  5. ^ A duplicate of the Silver Route, but serving the NC 105 lot. The Silver Route did not serve the NC 105 lot at this time.
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