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OISSS > Resources > Transportation

TRANSPORTATION

Getting Around Campus | Getting Around Town

Getting Around Campus

Campus Services
Department of Public Safety
The UNC-Chapel Hill Point-to-Point Shuttle Service

This shuttle exists to supplement the times and route schedules of the Chapel Hill Transit bus service. It takes three major forms:

  1. The P2P Daytime Fixed-Route Shuttle - serves UNC-Chapel Hill faculty and staff only; runs between UNC-Chapel Hill campus and off-campus locations from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.
  2. Point to Point Shuttle - a minivan demand-response (taxi-style) service utilized by calling from one official campus location to another. This shuttle is available for all students and employees daily between 5:00 pm and 7:00 am It is also available 24 hours per day for disabled students, students needing rides to and from Student Health Services, and employees needing rides to and from campus and remote University locations which are not serviced by other buses. Call the dispatcher at 962-7867 to arrange a ride.
  3. Point-to-Point Campus Express (P2P Xpress) - available to transport students around between dusk and dawn (7:00 pm to 3:00 am) seven days a week along a fare-free, fixed route. Thus, it is not necessary to call and arrange a ride. When boarding, riders must show student ID or UNC ONECARD.

SAFE Escort On-Campus Service
On the main campus, this student-run service will arrange for an escort to meet you at your campus building from 7:00 pm to 1:00 am. Call 962-SAFE (962-7233). Students can also stop by the SAFE Escort desk in Davis Library or in the Undergraduate Library (from midnight to 1:00 am) to arrange for an escort.

Parking
On-campus parking is restricted. Parking space is limited and allotted by the UNC-Chapel Hill Traffic Office located in the Transportation and Parking Security Service Building located near Morrison Dorm. Persons approved for on-campus parking will be issued a parking permit. These permits allow for parking in specific lots only. Metered parking spaces are available in some areas around campus for persons without a parking permit.

Note: The parking lots are strictly monitored and unauthorized vehicles are ticketed and/or towed.

Getting Around Town

Department of Motor Vehicles
http://www.dmv.org

North Carolina Driver's License
A driver's license in the United States is used for two different purposes. One is a permit to drive and the other is for identification. To drive in North Carolina you must have a valid driver's license. This can be a license from your country or a North Carolina driver's license. Students in possession of a valid license from their home country may drive in North Carolina as long as they intend to return to their country, and do not make North Carolina their permanent residence (unless they obtain a North Carolina identification card, then they are assumed to be a resident, and their home country license is only good for 30 days). Although it is not required, we recommend that students who remain in North Carolina for more than one year apply for a North Carolina driver's license because the driver's license is used widely for identification purposes in the U.S.

What do you need in order to get a North Carolina Driver's License?

  1. You will have to take and pass both a written and a driving test as well as a vision test. The written test is made up of 25 questions taken directly from the rules discussed in the Driver's Handbook (A copy of this handbook can be checked out from the Office of International Student and Scholar Services or downloaded from the Department of Motor Vehicles website). A passing score of 72% is needed. For the driving part of the test you will need to provide your own car - either your own, a friend's or a rental.
  2. Take Form DL123 from your automobile insurance agency. The DL123 form demonstrates that you are the owner of a "liability" insurance policy. Liability insurance is the minimum amount of auto insurance you must have in order to drive in the state of North Carolina. For the past several years, the rule was not enforced if the new driver was a student who lived in a dorm. Now it IS enforced.
  3. You need at least TWO forms of the following identification:
    • your passport
    • I-20 or DS-2019
    • valid or expired international driver's license
    • birth certificate
    • social security card or ITIN number now required

    Note: The UNC One Card is NOT acceptable as one of your forms.

    Take your UNC-Chapel Hill identification or a copy of your current class schedule. Spouses should take the student's proof of UNC-Chapel Hill attendance. Because North Carolina is phasing in a new five-year license, fees will range between $10.00 and $20.00 in cash for your license.

What if You Do Not Own a Car?
Because of the requirement that a driver carry liability insurance in order to get a license, it is becoming increasingly difficult for someone without a car (and therefore insurance) to get a license. As a student without a car, seeking a new North Carolina driver's license, you have two options:

  1. You can get a restricted driver's license that will only allow you to drive a rental or fleet car. If you are caught driving a vehicle of an individual, you will be ticketed as if you were driving without a license. It is not necessary for you to have auto liability insurance to get this license, but if you ever rent a car, you MUST accept the rental car company's offer of insurance.
  2. You can buy an auto liability insurance policy for people who do not own a car. This is sold at all insurance agencies and there are two prices. A person who has been driving over three years in their home country (and can provide proof of this-for example, with a driver's license from the home country) will have a cost of about $150.00 per six months for this policy. However if you have been driving for less than three years, then the policy will cost over $500 for a six-month period.

Identification Cards
If you do not drive, but would like an identification card to use in all those places that ask for your driver's license, you can receive an identification card from the same office. Items 3, 4 and 5 from above also apply for the identification card.

North Carolina Driver's License Examiners
Carrboro Plaza
Carrboro, NC 27510
919-929-4161
http://www.dmv.dot.state.nc.us

Click it or Ticket - Seat Belt Laws
It is the law in North Carolina for all passengers in the front seat of a motor vehicle to wear their safety belts. The state has launched a campaign called "Click it or Ticket" during which there are periodic road checks to see if passengers are buckled in their seatbelts. Those who are not buckled are ticketed. There is a $25 ticket per person unbuckled in a front seat, $85 per child regardless of where they are seated and a $60 court fee on top of that. Children under the age of 6 years are required to be buckled even if sitting in a back seat. Children under the age of five years and five inclusive are required to be in a safety or infant seat that is properly secured. For more specific information you may call the Department of Motor Vehicles.

The Chapel Hill and Triangle Transit Authority Bus System
Chapel Hill Transit offers a bus transportation system. In addition to regular buses, the "U" Bus is specifically a campus route bus and is free of charge. There is a small fee for rides within the UNC-Chapel Hill campus zone. Discounted semester or academic year bus passes are available. For more information, stop by the Campus Traffic Office, the Post Office in the basement of Student Stores, or call Chapel Hill Transit, 968-2769, 968-2770 or 968-2755.

The Triangle Transit Authority (TTA) is a regional bus service that serves Chapel Hill, Durham, Raleigh, Cary, Research Triangle Park, and the Raleigh-Durham International Airport. Passes and books of tickets are available for purchase. For more information and schedules, call 549-9999.

For both the Chapel Hill Bus System and TTA Service, exact fare is required. The driver cannot make change.

Taxis and Airport Shuttle
http://www.rdu.com
There are several taxi companies in Chapel Hill/Carrboro. Check the listings in the Yellow Pages of your local phone book for more information.

Ground Transportation Airport Shuttles run shuttles between Chapel Hill and the RDU Airport. You can either call in advance for a reservation or you can use the courtesy phones that are located in each terminal when you arrive. For more information call 919-840-0262 or 1-800-840-2738.

Transportation to Other Cities
For information regarding bus service to other cities, contact:

Carolina Trailways
833-3601

Local Greyhound Office
311 West Franklin St.
942-3356
1-800-231-2222
http://www.greyhound.com

Or if you wish to travel by train:

Amtrak
1-800-872-7245
http://www.amtrak.com