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PART Express

Surry County Route 6

Route Elimination Notice

For Immediate Release
March 11, 2022

Contact Information: Scott W. Rhine, PART CEO/General Manager, (336) 291-4316, scottr@partnc.org 

On February 21, 2022, the Surry County Board of County Commissioners took action at their scheduled Board of County Commissioners meeting by unanimous vote to withdraw their membership from the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART). The County has requested that their membership be removed from PART by June 30, 2022.

This release is an initial public notification that PART Express Route 6 service will no longer be operating, effective: July 1, 2022.

PART is a Regional Transportation Authority and unit of local government. The only one of its kind in the State of North Carolina. It comprises 22 elected and appointed officials representing the four largest cities of the Triad, 10 counties of the Piedmont Triad, four Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO), the region's two largest airports, and the North Carolina DOT Board of Transportation - Divisions 7 & 9.

Surry County joined PART in July 2004. PART began operating PART Express commuter bus service from Mt. Airy, Pilot Mountain, King, and Winston-Salem along the US52 highway corridor in 2005. Therefore, the decision of the Surry County Board of County Commissioners to withdraw their membership from PART directly impacts the PART Territorial Jurisdiction and restricts PART from operating PART Express service in Surry County.

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The Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART) is a unit of local government created in 1997 to enhance all forms of transportation in the Piedmont Triad Region. Our work is part of a larger statewide effort to improve transportation systems in North Carolina. Working with our partners, we strive to enhance mobility, address congestion, and reduce transportation related impacts on our air quality. Learn more at www.partnc.org. 

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PART talks a lot about transportation planning ... and we are ‘on the road again’ preparing to gather data! This time for our MPOs. An MPO is a Metropolitan Planning Organization that is a federally mandated and funded transportation policy-making organization. They are made up of representatives from local government and governmental transportation authorities. MPOs were created to ensure regional cooperation in transportation planning. Sound boring and too much like ‘government’? Broken down, an MPO consists of your neighbors working to improve our local community’s transportation options!

We have four regional MPOs participating in an essential project kicking off this Fall, and we will be looking for you, our neighbors, to help us plan! This project will be specific to the Triad region, and participating MPOs are Burlington/Graham, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and High Point, as well as PART.

The Triad Region Household Travel Survey is coming out this Fall.
MPOs need accurate information about how people get from place to place to ensure that transportation funds are spent where they are needed most.
Residents of our region can make a difference.
Participation by regional residents through a travel model survey will help build a complete picture of local and regional transportation needs. This allows decision-makers to more effectively target transportation improvements and gives residents a voice in the decision-making process.
Every household we invite will be essential.
Each invited household will represent many other similar households across the region. Regardless of the number of trips made or whether someone travels by car, bus, bicycle, or other means, their input will be vital. We need everyone to know that this is critical to ensuring our region is prosperous and efficient for years to come!

We will provide additional information in the coming months and offer participants cash incentives to participate.