Raleigh's bus system is adequate, but not fantastic. The fares are reasonable, and buses do a very good job of staying on schedule, but since Raleigh isn't a major city where everyone (and not just the poor/working class) uses the public transportation system, there are many improvements that could be made; e.g., you can't take a CAT bus from Raleigh to the RDU airport. Night and weekend service is available (although service is limited/reduced), but don't plan on catching a bus home from the bar. With the proper amount of planning and a degree of patience, you can certainly use the CAT system to get around, but I can't imagine that very many people with another option actually do.
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