The Fayetteville Area Metropolitan Planning Authority is planning to conduct a $500,000 transit study that would provide recommendations for future regional transit projects.
Fayetteville Area Metropolitan Planning Authority (FAMPO) is a federally mandated and funded transportation planning organization that oversees and coordinates public transportation projects in the Fayetteville metropolitan area. FAMPO’s jurisdiction area includes the cities of Fayetteville and Raeford, the towns of Spring Lake, Hope Mills, Eastover, and Parkton, as well as other portions of Cumberland, Hoke, Robeson and Harnett Counties. The combined population of FAMPO’s coverage area is about 407,000 people.
FAMPO Executive Director Hank Graham discussed the transit study and other regional initiatives at a joint city-county meeting on Monday. Graham said the study will look at ways to consolidate resources and funding of the various local government transit systems, including the Fayetteville Area System of Transit (FAST), the Harnett Area Rural Transit System and Hoke Area Transit Service.
“We would go through a procurement process, hire an experienced public transit consulting firm to assist us in finding ways to maximize the leveraging of our funding, our resources to make transportation and transit much better for our entire Fayetteville area,” Graham said.
The $500,000 transit study is included in FAMPO’s fiscal year 2026 budget as part of its Unified Planning Work Program, Graham said. This plan allocates funds the organization receives from the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration. Graham did not express concern about accessing these federal funds given recent cost-cutting actions of the Trump administration.
Graham said the study would be the first of its kind in the area. “I don’t think any of my predecessors conducted a regional transit study,” he said.
Microtransit
Graham said the study is expected to provide recommendations for improved and innovative transit solutions, such as microtransit, a public transportation option that combines traditional bus services with ride-sharing options. Similar to private ride-sharing apps like Uber or Lyft, microtransit allows for residents to get rides to anywhere within the service area, Graham explained.
Riders could also use microtransit to travel to another service area. For example, riders could go from Fayetteville to Raleigh by traveling from the FAMPO area to the North Carolina Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization service area, which serves Raleigh.
“Maybe some folks could or would be interested in receiving trips to go to the Triangle, to go to Duke Medical Center or go to UNC Medical Center for health care trips and things of that nature,” Graham said. “Users could request a ride in real time with microtransit systems the way that they are being proposed and set up through the use of an app on a smartphone, through the computer, from a website or through a phone call. It’s very flexible and convenient.”
Graham indicated microtransit may also be more affordable than using a private ride-sharing app. In Johnston County, for example, riders pay $6 to go anywhere within the transit zone, no matter the distance from point A to point B.
Although he said there are only 5-10 microtransit systems available in the state of North Carolina, Graham is optimistic that microtransit would work well in Fayetteville.
“This is a future option that I’m thinking we’re going to be heading towards in the future here in Fayetteville,” Graham said.
Government accountability reporter Evey Weisblat can be reached at eweisblat@cityviewnc.com or 216-527-3608.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly named FAMPO Executive Director Hank Graham. The article has been updated with the correction information. CityView apologizes for this error.
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