Rockingham NC: how to get there by public transport?
 

Hi

I have a friend that is doing me a favor, and in turn, I'm trying to do one for her. She can fly from Pittsburgh to Charlotte or Raleigh/Durham, but then needs to go on to Rockingham.

Is there any public transport from either place, or public transport that might actually get her part of the way to Rockingham from either city?

Any ideas or suggestions would be very helpful.
Thanks.

Well it has a Greyhound bus station - you might check out the connections.

Do you mean Rockingham has a Greyhound station?

And riding the bus is absolutely scary. If she does take the bus from Charlotte (I'm sure it would be a better connection than RDU) she will need to take a $25 cab to the downtown station.

Rockingham has no Greyhound station, nor is there one anywhere close to Rockingham. Wouldn't think there are any public transport options here.

Riding the bus may or may not be scary, Gretchen. Hundreds of thousands of people ride buses locally and long distance in many urban areas of the country without any worry at all. But I would be real surprised if you could still get to Rockingham by bus.

OK, I guess nytraveler was perhaps mistaken.

Are there any public transport options from CLT to the city of Charlotte?

Does anyone know if Charlotte has bus or rail service to suburbs in the direction of Rockingham? My friend may be able to get a ride, but any time she can cut off the distance to Rockingham would help her considerably.

Well, actually there might be train service to Hamlet, at least. Many long years ago I caught a train there to Florida!! But really where is she coming from?

She's coming from Pittsburgh, and actually has to get to Hamlet. It appears she said Rockingham because she thought it was bigger and better served than Hamlet.

OK, thanks to Gretchen, I've found a train between Raleigh and Hamlet, that could work. Now I've got to figure a route from Raleigh train station to the Raleigh airport. Anyone?

I have no personal knowledge but it was listed on the web site as having a Greyhound bus station. Perhaps it was out of date.

From the RDU airport, take a taxi to the Amtrak station in Cary, NC (closer). Cary will be one stop off from Raleigh in train service.

nytraveler, are you confusing Rockingham with Rocky Mount? There is no mention of Rockingham, NC on the Greyhound website.

Amtrak has a service via Cary to Hamlet but it takes over 6 hours
I am trying to get to Rockingham myself on the 7th in the afternoon I might hitch supposedly only takes 2 hours to drive

If your friend is trying to get to Hamlet, you should look at the Amtrak schedules on their website. The Atlantic Coast service, Silver Star Train 91 runs daily as of November 7 leaving Raleigh at 9:13 p.m. and arriving Hamlet at 11:21 p.m. Return service (train 92) leaving Hamlet early in a.m. This is an all reserve train.

The Raleigh Durham airport site suggests a $30 taxi ride from the airport to the Amtrak station. There is local transit, but I think it would be pretty complicated for someone unfamiliar.

Hamlet has an amazing train station. Buffs take note.

If your friend drives, car rental for all of this is a much better option. Small town America is very poorly served by public transit and I'm actually shocked it's possible to get there at all that way.

If flying into RDU, you can use Triangle Transit. Take TT to the TT hub in RTP and then to locations like Downtown where the train station is.

The other posters are correct that Cary is closer and a shorter cab ride but could still cost $15 to $20 to get there. There is also a train station/area in Durham which might get you there by TT.

If taking Amtrak, look for one of the local NC trains like The Carolinian or The Piedmont if at all possible as they are based in NC and only run here and are not effected by schedule issues outside of the state. Since they run from Raleigh to Charlotte and back, not sure they are the trains you need. There is a large rail track running from Raleigh to Southern Pines and on which looks like the track.

I have taken a train to Rockingham before but it was a private train to the speedway years ago, so tracks are there.

http://triangletransit.org/bus/airport/
http://triangletransit.org