A $300,000 study would weigh moving or rebuilding the Clark Campbell Transportation Center. A council committee backed it 8-0 on Monday.

Winston-Salem wants to find out whether its downtown bus station should stay where it is.

The City Council’s Committee of the Whole voted 8-0 on Monday to recommend a study of the Clark Campbell Transportation Center, the Winston-Salem Transit Authority’s single main transfer hub. The study would look at modernizing the building, shrinking it, splitting its work among smaller hubs or moving it altogether. The vote is recorded in the city’s meeting record for Nov. 9. The resolution now goes to the full City Council.

What the study would cost

City transportation staff put the cost at about $300,000, according to the staff report.

  • The city plans to apply this month to the Winston-Salem Area Transportation Planning Organization’s Special Studies Program.
  • That program usually pays 80% of a study with federal and state planning money.
  • The local 20% share would be about $60,000.
  • Greater Winston-Salem Inc. has committed up to $60,000 toward that local share, the report said.

The report said approval “does not obligate the City to proceed with any future capital improvements or relocation efforts.” It pays for the study and the grant application only.

Why the city is asking now

The staff presentation to the committee said the station “was designed for a different transit network.” It listed these problems with the current building:

  • many functions packed into a tight footprint
  • crowding for passengers moving through the station
  • tight space for buses to circulate
  • security and monitoring demands
  • aging building systems, with capital needs “emerging”

The bus network itself has changed. WSTA moved from a system where 72% of buses came once an hour to one where 63% come every 30 minutes and 8% every 20 minutes, the presentation said. New crosstown routes now let riders transfer without going downtown.

WSTA ridership in September 2026 was 13,144 higher than in September 2025, according to the presentation. Route 103 gained 50% after its buses began coming more often. The two new crosstown routes, WSTA-X West and WSTA-X South, each carry more than 5,000 riders a month. WSTA plans to launch an on-demand service, WSTA Flex, in January 2027.

The timeline

The presentation laid out a long road. A new or rebuilt station would not open before 2033.

When Step
November 2026 Apply for study funding
January to July 2027 Hire a consultant once money is available
July 2027 to October 2028 Run the study: sites, buses, operations, public input, costs
October to December 2028 Staff bring a preferred option to the City Council
2029 Land, funding and contractor procurement
2030 to 2033 Design and construction, aiming for a spring 2033 opening

A major rebuild would need a federal grant. The presentation said the city would look for a program able to support a request of at least $30 million.

What it means for you

  • Nothing changes at the station now. Buses run from the Clark Campbell Transportation Center as before.
  • The study would include public input before staff bring a recommendation to the council, which they expect in late 2028.
  • If you ride WSTA, watch for WSTA Flex in January.

For bus routes, parking decks and other ways to get around, see our getting around guide and the downtown neighborhood guide.