GoTriangle is helping underserved and minority communities access transit services.
Kim Johnson, GoTriangle’s commuter program consultant, notes a major part of making transportation options accessible is providing the tools, education and resources so all community members know how to confidently navigate GoTriangle’s transportation systems.
“Whether they ride the bus, bike or walk, we want them to feel comfortable and also know how to access our supportive transit services, such as the call center and microtransit,” Johnson said.
A few ways GoTriangle has worked towards its goal in Wake, Durham, and Orange Counties over the last few months:
- Hiring a Spanish-language speaker, Nahu Palacios, to its Sustainable Travel Department in May.
- Directly engaging with the community, advocacy groups and grassroots organizations at community events with Transportation Demand Management partners, such as Bikes and Kites Day with the town of Chapel Hill.
- Attending the 18th Annual North Carolina Juneteenth Celebration in Durham to spread news about transit options.
- Collaborating with Wake County Habitat for Humanity to reach Habitat Homeowners across Wake County to help reduce the expense of transit in households.
In Fiscal Year 2023, the GoPerks incentive program – which rewards green commuters with gift cards from small, local businesses – expanded its objectives by aiming to allocate 50 percent of incentives towards purchases from minority- and women-owned businesses.
“We have dedicated our efforts to making sure the businesses represented in GoPerks also represent the community as a whole by purposefully seeking women- and minority-owned businesses to promote in the program,” Johnson said. “Since 2020, more than 50 percent of the prizes and businesses represented in GoPerks drawings have met this inclusion goal.”
