No matter how much fun you have on Halloween, TTA invites everyone to celebrate FESTI-BUS on November 1st! TTA staff will be barnstorming around the region all day on November 1, bringing with them a few of the newest, most technologically advanced buses available on the market today. Brand New Demonstration Vehicles from Gillig, ORION, and OPTIMA bus companies will be coming to Chapel Hill from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM on Wednesday, November 1.

TTA has several events coming up in November where we will be soliciting public input on the design of TTA's next vehicle, as well as other topics pertaining to how we can improve our existing services. TTA will order these vehicles in 2007, and they will arrive in 2008. We want YOU to tell us what types of features and amenities these vehicles should have!

YOU will be able to walk onboard, kick the tires (gently), and take a survey about what you would like to see in the next generation of TTA buses. Everyone who attends FESTI-BUS and fills out our bus survey is eligible to WIN a $50 cash card just for giving your opinion!

Sustainable North Carolina will be giving out its annual Sustainability Awards on Monday, October 30. Formerly known as Save Our State, the organization's goal is to promote "sustainability" in business and government sectors. Heavy hitters such as Weyerhauser, Progress Energy, IBM, and Dupont as well as Advanced Energy Corporation, Burt's Bee's , and the Environmental Defense Fund are involved with this organization.

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce sponsors the "Foundation for a Sustainable Community" and it is a finalist for this year's Sustainability Award from Sustainable North Carolina (I'm beginning to feel sustainable myself after repeatedly typing this powerful word...).

Is it just me or does the Downtown Partnership's* "Festival of Lights" sound like the mall-i-fication of downtown?