while Connections Express connects the Triad to Duke and UNC Medical Centers. PART is also administering and developing several rail service studies that include both commuter and intercity rail. Wilmington's Wave Transit operates six bus lines within the city as well as five shuttles to nearby areas and a downtown trolley. In July 2008, Western Piedmont Regional Transit Authority began serving Burke, Caldwell, Catawba and Alexander counties in the region just west of Charlotte, and include the cities of Conover, Hickory, Lenoir, Morganton, and Taylorsville. Jacksonville recently began a trial bus system called the LOOP, which runs two routes through the city and nearby Camp Lejeune. But this loop has yet to be made permanent. Asheville operates the Asheville Transit System, which consists of sixteen bus lines providing service throughout the City of Asheville and to Black Mountain, North Carolina. Greenville is serviced by Greenville Area Transit (GREAT), as well as East Carolina University Transit, which focuses on transit for students, faculty and staff of ECU, and Vidant Medical Center transportation, which provides shuttles from parking lots, as well as in between offices in Greenville. Pitt County is serviced by Pitt Area Transit, which also operates within Greenville City limits. Major highways The North Carolina Highway System consists of a vast network of Interstate Highways, including Interstate 26, Interstate 40, Interstate 73, Interstate 74, Interstate 77, Interstate 85 and Interstate 95, U.S. Highways, and state highways. North Carolina has the largest state-maintained highway network in the United States, with of roadway. See also Plug-in electric vehicles in North Carolina References