AppalCart

AppalCART

AppalCART buses in Boone, NC.
Founded	October 1981
Headquarters	305 Highway 105 Bypass Boone, NC 28607
Locale	North Carolina
Service area	Boone and Appalachian State University with service to rural locations throughout Watauga County
Service type	Local and Student Commuter
Routes	24
Stops	120
Hubs	ASU College Street Station ASU Peacock Traffic Circle Walmart Rural Route Drop-off
Fleet	43
Daily ridership	1,938,321 annually (2019)
Fuel type	Diesel, gasoline & electric
Operator	Watauga County
Website	appalcart.com

AppalCART (Appalachian Campus Area Rapid Transit) is a free public bus network located in Boone, North Carolina. It provides fare-free fixed route and paratransit service throughout Appalachian State University and Boone, as well as low-fare van service to other towns within Watauga County. ^[1] In 2013, AppalCART reported a ridership of 1,712,873 passenger trips. ^[2] In 2019, it reported 1,938,321 trips. ^[3] This number has dipped to 1.5 million trips in 2024. These trips resulted in 900,000 miles of public transit in 2024. ^[4]

AppalCART is governed by an 8-member board. ^[5] The current chairman of the board is Quint David. ^[6] It receives its funding from a mix of federal, state, local, and Appalachian State University funds. ^[7]

In 2022, Appalcart unveiled a new 45 foot electric bus, one of the first in the state of North Carolina. Electric busses in the system are expected to grow in future years. ^[8] . AppalCart is working towards expanding their electric fleet, and hopes to have the fleet be 100% electric by 2037. ^[9]

As of July 2025, AppalCART has announced the addition of a double-decker bus, set to operate in August 2025. ^[10]

Routes

Regular routes

Regular routes ^{[3] [11]}

Route name and official color shade	Annual ridership (2019)	Year-round?	Start	High-traffic destinations	High-traffic corridors served	Opposite end [A]
Blue	159,208	N	ASU Peacock Traffic Circle	ASU Mountaineer Hall ASU Appalachian Heights	Bodenheimer Drive	South Lot / Baseball Stadium
Express	114,688	Y	ASU Peacock Traffic Circle	ASU Garwood Hall ASU Convocation Center Boone Mall Walmart Watauga Medical Center The Finmore ASU Mountain Laurel Hall ASU Skywalk	Rivers Street Blowing Rock Road / US 321, US 221 State Farm Road	ASU College of Health Sciences
Gold	16,099	Y	ASU College Street Station	Sunway Charters / Dogwood Hall ASU Skywalk ASU Trivette Hall ASU Mountaineer Hall ASU Appalachian Heights	Bodenheimer Drive Rivers Street West King Street / US 421, US 321, NC 194 Hardin Street / US 321	South Lot / Baseball Stadium
Gray(formerly State Farm Lot Shuttle)	45,813	Y	ASU Child Development Center	ASU Living Learning Center ASU Schaefer Center Horn in the West Lot ASU Skywalk	Poplar Grove Road Rivers Street Hardin Street / US 321 East King Street / US 421 NC 105 / US 221 State Farm Road	ASU State Farm Lot
Green	294,372	Y	Hospitality House	NC 105 Crosswalk ASU NC 105 Lot ASU Mountain Laurel Hall ASU Schaefer Center ASU College Street Station Watauga High School Mountaineer Village ASU Skywalk	NC 105 Blowing Rock Road / US 321 Rivers Street West King Street / US 421, US 321, NC 194 East King Street / US 421, US 221, NC 194	Cottages of Boone
NC 105 Lot Shuttle	20,023	N	ASU NC 105 Lot	ASU Dogwood Hall ASU Trivette Hall	NC 105 Bodenheimer Drive Hardin Street / US 321 [B]	ASU Mountaineer Hall
Orange [12]	180,396	Y	ASU College Street Station	Mountaineer Village	East King Street / US 421, US 221, NC 194	Brookshire Park Road
Pink	62,773	N	ASU Peacock Traffic Circle	ASU Garwood Hall ASU Convocation Center Boone Mall Watauga Medical Center The Finmore ASU Mountain Laurel Hall ASU Skywalk	Rivers Street Blowing Rock Road / US 321, US 221 State Farm Road	ASU College of Health Sciences
Pop 105	273,054	Y	AppalCART Headquarters	High Country Condos ASU Schaefer Center ASU Convocation Center McDonald's NC 105 Crosswalk University Highlands CCC&TI (After 6:00 PM, until 9:50 PM)	US 421, US 321, NC 194 Rivers Street Blowing Rock Road / US 321 NC 105 NC 105 Byp.	AppalCART Headquarters
Purple	250,639	Y	ASU Peacock Traffic Circle	ASU Garwood Hall ASU Convocation Center Boone Mall The Village at Meadowview ASU Mountain Laurel Hall ASU Skywalk	Rivers Street Blowing Rock Road / US 321, US 221 Greenway Road
Red	366,604	Y	AppalCART Headquarters	High Country Condos ASU College Street Station Walmart Watauga Medical Center Quail Drive	West King Street / US 421, US 321, NC 194 East King Street / US 421 NC 105 / US 221 Greenway Road State Farm Road	ASU College of Health Sciences
Silver	58,385	N	Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute	Studio West ASU NC 105 Lot ASU Mountain Laurel Hall ASU Skywalk Pinnacle Drive	US 421, US 321, NC 194 Rivers Street Blowing Rock Road / US 321 NC 105 NC 105 Byp.	Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute
State Farm Lot Shuttle	No data (Established 2023)	N	ASU Trivette Hall	ASU Skywalk Sunway Charters / ASU Dogwood Hall ASU College Street Station Quail Drive	Rivers Street Hardin Street / US 321 [C] State Farm Road	ASU State Farm Lot
Wellness District	41,535	N	ASU College of Health Sciences	The Finmore Watauga Medical Center	State Farm Road	ASU College of Health Sciences
Total annual ridership(including Night Owl routes and irregular routes such as Game Day routes)(2019):	1,938,321	-	-	-	-	-

Night Owl routes

Night Owl routes ^{[3] [11]}

Route name and official color shade	Annual ridership (2019) [D]	Year-round?	Start	High-traffic destinations	High-traffic corridors served	Opposite end
Express	3,163	N	ASU Peacock Traffic Circle	ASU Garwood Hall ASU Convocation Center Boone Mall Walmart Watauga Medical Center The Finmore ASU Mountain Laurel Hall ASU Skywalk	Rivers Street Blowing Rock Road / US 321, US 221	The Village at Meadowview
Gold	2,548	N	ASU College Street Station	Sunway Charters / Dogwood Hall ASU Skywalk ASU Trivette Hall ASU Mountaineer Hall ASU Appalachian Heights	Bodenheimer Drive Rivers Street West King Street / US 421, US 321, NC 194 Hardin Street / US 321	South Lot / Baseball Stadium
Pop 105	3,517	N	AppalCART Headquarters	High Country Condos ASU Schaefer Center ASU Convocation Center McDonald's NC 105 Crosswalk University Highlands	US 421, US 321, NC 194 Rivers Street Blowing Rock Road / US 321 NC 105 NC 105 Byp.	AppalCART Headquarters
Total annual ridership (2019)	9,137	-	-	-	-	-

Game Day routes

In addition to the above routes, AppalCART operates seven game day routes: Gray, Express, Purple, Orange, Blue, Gold, and the Disability Shuttle, totaling 24 routes on the system. There are three stops only served by these routes: Poplar Grove Connector Parking Lot, ASU Hill Street Lot, and ASU Stadium East Gate, totaling 120 stops on the entire system. ^[13]

Former routes

Former routes ^[14]

Route name and official color shade	Fate	Active from	Year-round?	Start	High-traffic destinations	High-traffic corridors served	Opposite end
Blowing Rock	Low ridership	May 2018–Aug 2021	N(Weekends May-Aug only)	Tanger Outlets	Morris Street Holiday Inn Express The Village Inn	Valley Blvd / US 321, US 221 Main Street / US 321 Bus.	Green Park Inn
Gray (1st version) [E]	Staffing shortages [15]	Aug 2021–Sep 2021	N	Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute	Studio West ASU NC 105 Lot ASU Mountain Laurel Hall ASU Skywalk Pinnacle Drive	US 421, US 321, NC 194 Rivers Street Blowing Rock Road / US 321 NC 105 NC 105 Byp.	Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute
Green East	Merged with Teal to become Green Route [16]	?–Aug 2018	Y	ASU College Street Station	Mountaineer Village	East King Street / US 421, US 221, NC 194	Hospitality House
Green West	Merged with Red [16]	?–Aug 2018	Y	ASU College Street Station	Kensington Apartments High Country Condos	West King Street / US 421, US 321, NC 194 Queen Street	Old Bristol Road / US 421 near NC 105 Bypass
Orange Night Owl	Staffing shortages, COVID-19 pandemic [17]	Aug 2019–Nov 2019	N	ASU College Street Station	Mountaineer Village	East King Street / US 421, US 221, NC 194	Brookshire Park Road
Teal	Merged with Green East to become Green Route [16]	Aug 2013–Aug 2018	Y	ASU Peacock Traffic Circle	Studio West NC 105 Crosswalk ASU Appalachian Panhellenic Hall ASU Skywalk ASU Convocation Center	Rivers Street Blowing Rock Road / US 321 NC 105	Cottages of Boone
Night Owl	Unknown	?–Mid-2001	No data archived	No data archived	No data archived	No data archived	No data archived

Board of Directors

The board of directors of Appalcart is made up of 8 members who are:

• Quint David - Chair
• Barry Sauls - Vice Chair
• Ronnie Marsh - Member Commissioner
• Todd Carter - Boone Town Council
• Angie Boitnotte - Project on Aging
• David Jackson - At-Large
• Joe Eller - Rider Representative
• John Adams - Appalachain State University Representative

References

1. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-01-09. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
2. "AppalCART Reports Record Ridership Once Again of 1,712,873 Passenger Trips; Six Percent Increase Over 2012 | High Country Press". www.hcpress.com. 9 January 2014. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
3. "Statistics". AppalCART. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
4. Barber, Luke (30 January 2025). "Boone Town Council hears AppalCart update". Watauga Democrat. Adams Publishing Group. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
5. "Our Board". AppalCart - Boone, NC Public Transportation. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
6. "Board | Appalcart". Archived from the original on 2014-01-09. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
7. "Alternative Transportation: Mass Transit | Sustain Appalachian". Archived from the original on 2014-01-10. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
8. Elklor, Rose. "AppalCart unveils new electric bus". spectrumlocalnews.com. Spectrum News. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
9. Barber, Luke (30 January 2025). "Boone Town Council hears AppalCart update". Watauga Democrat. Adams Publishing Group. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
10. Fogleman, Nick (8 July 2025). "AppalCART Debuts States First Public Transport Double Decker Bus". Watauga Democrat. Adams Publishing Group. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
11. "Route Maps and Schedules". AppalCART. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
12. Patterson, Siri; Edwards, Madalyn (2023-08-26). "AppalCart introduces new mobile app, changes to routes". The Appalachian. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
13. "Game Day Routes". AppalCART. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
14. AppalCART Schedules & Routes (PDF)
15. Markland, Jake; Broyles, Emily (2021-08-30). "Driver shortage causes shift in AppalCart routes". The Appalachian. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
16. Reece, Kenneth (2018-06-21). "AppalCART Proposed Fixed Route Changes For August 13, 2018". WataugaOnline.com. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
17. Broyles, Emily; Holiday, Gianna (2020-11-08). "AppalCart seeks public input on Night Owl services after decrease in activity". The Appalachian. Retrieved 2023-11-27.

1. Not all AppalCART routes are perfectly linear; some loop back on themselves and/or have branches.
2. NC 105 Lot Shuttle drives on routes such as US 221, but it does not make stops associated with all of the roads it uses.
3. State Farm Lot Shuttle drives on routes such as US 221, but it does not make stops associated with all of the roads it uses.
4. In 2019, Night Owl routes only ran August through November. From 2021 onwards, they run August through May. As such, these figures are inaccurate for the present day and are likely much higher, however, no data is available.
5. A duplicate of the Silver Route, but serving the NC 105 lot. The Silver Route did not serve the NC 105 lot at this time.

External links

• Official Website