ASHEBORO — Editor’s note: A few weeks ago, staff writer Larry Penkava decided to test the PART bus service to Greensboro. What follows is a diary of sorts of his day, all at the mercy of a bus.



OK, now you can ride the bus to Greensboro – then what?

The Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART) started bus service between Asheboro and Greensboro on June 30.

But you may be asking, as I did, what do you do when you get to Greensboro?

With that in mind, I decided to take the plunge – ride the Randolph Express and find out how to get around the Gate City.

I arrived at the Randolph Hospital bus stop last Wednesday at about 6:40 a.m. I parked my car in the shopping center lot across the street from the hospital.

There were eight passengers waiting in the dim pre-sunrise light to catch the bus.

Elise Hafiz and Jamie Little were standing together. Little told me she works at LeBauer Health Care on Church Street, within walking distance of Cone Hospital, one of the PART stops. She said she starts work at 8 a.m., about 10 minutes after she gets off the bus. I talked extensively with Hafiz later.

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6:49 a.m.: The bus is right on time. I board the bus behind the others, give the driver my over-60 fare and find a seat near the back for me and my little bag of necessities. I see that 12 passengers have preceded us.

6:55 a.m.: We arrive at Northgate, where four more riders join our ranks. On the drive to Randleman, I notice that some riders are dozing, some are reading, a few are talking quietly and one man is working on his laptop.



I make a mental note: Next time, bring a book.



7:08 a.m.: We pick up four more passengers at Randleman. Now we’re on the longest leg of the trip, over the Randleman Lake bridge, by the Level Cross exit and into Guilford County (7:16 a.m.). The traffic is pretty heavy, but not as much as it would be without PART.

7:25 a.m.: We make our first Greensboro stop at the corner of Freeman Mill Road and Lovett Street. We lose six from our group.

7:32 a.m.: The next stop is at the UNCG Walker Avenue traffic circle and six more debark. They may be faculty and staff, since the fall semester hasn’t started yet.

7:36 a.m.: Women’s Hospital is the next stop, with two getting off.

7:39 a.m.: Another hospital, this time Wesley Long, and three more leave us. I’m amazed that the bus has kept very close to schedule, no more than two or three minutes off either way.

7:46 a.m.: At Moses Cone, Little and three others debark. The bus makes an unscheduled stop at the GTA sign on Church Street to let off four more passengers.

7:55 a.m.: We pull into the J. Douglas Galyon Depot, otherwise known as the Greensboro Depot, and our bus parks at Slip 16. The last three of us, including Hafiz, get off.



This is where it gets interesting. I’ve looked at the GTA (Greensboro Transit Authority) web site and learned that a senior such as myself can purchase an all-day pass for just $1.60, the standard rate being $3.25. I buy a pass and then look for a bus to ride.

There are 14 bus routes on the GTA schedule, spreading out like tendrils to all sections of the city.

Out under a massive canopy, where buses wait at their slips, I have a difficult time deciding which to take. Finally, I just get on the first bus I come to.



8:06 a.m.: I board the Route 4 Benbow/Willow Road bus. It does a loop through the southeastern part of Greensboro, with stops at the Vance Chavis Branch of the Public Library, Kindred Hospital (formerly L. Richardson) and the Guilford Health Care Center.



The bus is nearly empty on the way out, but the driver makes stops whenever he sees someone standing beside a GTA sign. Those signs are everywhere in Greensboro.



8:14 a.m.: We pick up passengers at Kindred Hospital, one of the regular stops on the route. Along the way we stop at or pass by Alamance Square Shopping Center, Barber Park, Bluford Park and Dudley High School.

8:49 a.m.: We’re back at the depot with a full load. Now I’m looking for another bus to ride.

9:05 a.m.: The Route 6 Summit Avenue bus is full with standing room only. A woman sits next to me on the aisle seat and says she’s going to work.



This bus has regular stops at the Red Cross, Center City Park, Greensboro Children’s Museum, Greensboro Historical Museum and other agencies.

One of those others, the Department of Social Services, appears to be the most popular as maybe half the passengers get off.

On the way back, many of them will return to the bus.

A young African-American man in the seat in front of me turns around to talk after noticing my college class ring. He says he’s from Virginia and is down here for a couple of months on a temporary job downtown. He gets off at a large shopping center.



9:56 a.m.: Back at the terminal, I find the Route 7 Friendly Avenue bus. Stops include Friendly Shopping Center, Guilford College, Greensboro College and the Guilford County Courthouse.

10 a.m.: We leave right on schedule. I ride all the way to Guilford College, where the driver turns around for the return trip. This time I pull the stop cord as we ride through Friendly Center and the driver brakes to let me off at the nearest GTA sign.

10:40 a.m.: I’m on my own now. I make a note of where the GTA sign is and begin walking.

10:45 a.m.: I see Sears nearby, inviting me to come in. We used to come here a lot when our three daughters were little. I ride the escalator to the second floor and make a pit stop.

11:15 a.m.: After a hike around the new Shops at Friendly, I return to the main part of the old shopping center. I enter a store specializing in outdoor gear to look around.

11:30 a.m.: It’s just a short walk to K&W; Cafeteria, where I go to eat lunch.

11:55 a.m.: I hurry back to the bus stop to wait for my ride back to downtown. I estimate that the bus should be along within 10 or 15 minutes.

12:11 p.m.: My bus is here.

12:22 p.m.: The lady bus driver stops at a traffic light and gets out to give directions to a pickup truck driver, who obviously is lost.

12:29 p.m.: Back at the Depot and it’s time for a change of pace.

12:34 p.m.: I walk from the Depot to a nearby warehouse where I worked more than 30 years ago. It’s no longer a food distributorship and I find nobody inside, but it brings back plenty of memories.

12:52 p.m.: I arrive at the Greenway in the Center City Park, where a man and woman are performing familiar songs on stage.



I spy a familiar face under a canvas shelter. It’s George, a News 2 cameraman I’ve run into a number of times on assignments. He tells me the city has these concerts every Wednesday.

On the way back to the Depot, I walk down East Washington Street beside what used to be the Northwestern Building.

A small print shop on the north side of the building is where Ginny and I purchased our wedding announcements.

The shop has been replaced by another business.



1:51 p.m.: I board the PART bus to return to Asheboro and sit with Hafiz.



She says today is her first time as a rider on the Randolph Express. She decided to try it out, go to a Greensboro branch of her bank, visit the main library and walk around downtown.

Hafiz says she lives alone and doesn’t have a car, so she walks quite a bit, including grocery shopping. She’d like to shop at Wal-Mart but it’s too far.

“You know,” she said, “now I can take the PART bus to Randleman and I’m right at Wal-Mart.”

Hafiz said she enjoyed the day: “Elm Street has a lot more than I thought. It reminds me a little of Greenwich Village (she used to live in New York City).”

Noting that the Depot is the terminal for Greyhound and Amtrack, not to mention having a PART transfer to the airport, Hafiz said it was a convenient service when she wants to travel to other parts of the country.

“It’s perfect, it’s wonderful,” she exclaimed. “I will come back and go to all the other places (in Greensboro).

“You be sure and write a good article so people will know about the bus,” Hafiz said.



3:10 p.m.: The bus stops at Randolph Hospital where I get off and return to my car.

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So, what’s the big story here? Is it the the cost savings, the convenience of letting someone else drive, having a way to get around Greensboro on the GTA buses or just meeting good people?

I’d have to say all of the above.

For $3.60 I rode buses all day. At the regular – non-senior – fares, it would have cost me $7.25, which is less than the price of two gallons of gas.

With all the GTA routes, I could have gone just about anywhere in Greensboro, or at least close to it. And somebody else worries about getting around and finding parking spaces.

Last but not least, I made some new friends.

What other reasons do you need to ride the Randolph Express?