Agenda - 09-04-2014 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

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28 1 1 hour headway. He said option 2 also does away with the Efland-Hillsborough Commuter 2 Loop. 3 Bret Martin said there is also a 3rd option of mixing and matching to do what is important. 4 He said this option was added in order to be responsive to public comment and to highlight the 5 fact that adding one thing means taking away from something else. He noted that the program 6 is financially constrained. 7 John Tallmadge from Triangle Transit arrived. He said most public interest has been 8 around the OPT services. He said his board takes the item up on June 25, and if approved, it 9 will be implemented on August 18th 10 Commissioner Pelissier thanked staff for working on this. She reminded everyone that 11 the Orange Durham express route was in the plan, and everyone is very excited about this 12 route. She asked how this will be advertised to the public. She asked if Duke University will 13 help advertise, since many of those surveyed were Duke employees. 14 John Tallmadge said there will be a concerted effort with Duke to do some advertising. 15 He said Duke offers a go pass to their employees; so the fare would be free for the employees, 16 and Duke pays TTA per boarding. He said the service, the direct information from the 17 employer, and the subsidy will be the primary market. He said there is also a staff person who 18 works with major employers throughout the County to create program awareness. 19 Commissioner McKee asked about the timing of additional stops. He asked what the 20 process will be for adding stops after this route is up and running. He said he can think of two 21 other stops needed along the 70 corridor. 22 John Tallmadge said there are multiple sources to get information regarding the addition 23 of new stops. He said the considerations are whether the stop is along the current route and 24 whether there is time in the schedule to add another stop. He said if these two considerations 25 are met, then a professional judgment is made regarding whether or not there is there enough 26 demand to add the additional stop. He said stops are easier to add on the reverse commute 27 direction, as this does not delay the riders going in the time sensitive direction. 28 Commissioner McKee said this may be able to be addressed with the OPT service, but 29 he wants to make sure those residents along Highway 70 can utilize this service. 30 John Tallmadge said one other consideration is whether the stop is a safe location. 31 Commissioner Rich referred to Commissioner Pelissier's question regarding the 32 advertising of this service. She suggested staff follow through on some suggestions that were 33 given at their last Durham/Chapel Hill/ Orange Work Group meeting. 34 Commissioner Rich said she was one of the people who did not think OPT should be a 35 fare free service. She does not think this is sustainable. She said, to avoid problems down the 36 road, she would not want this to be a free bus service. She said she is primarily giving this 37 opinion to OPT. She agreed that it makes sense to have a monthly pass or something similar. 38 Commissioner Gordon said she expects this will come back for work sessions in the fall. 39 She asked for information on how the ODX and anything else proposed in the next five years 40 will fit into the bus and rail investment plan and the implementation agreement. She asked for a 41 big picture view of how this bus service fits into the broader plan. She asked for clarification on 42 how the costs and the revenues work out. She noted that OPT charges much less ($44 per 43 bus hour) than anyone else for bus service hours. She said she knows there are reasons why 44 TTA has to charge more. She asked what the amount is for TTA. 45 John Tallmadge said TTA is budgeting $114 per bus hour in the upcoming fiscal year. 46 Commissioner Gordon said this is a large difference, and she wants to make sure OPT 47 is capturing all of the costs. She said the difference also makes it difficult to determine how to 48 allocate money from the bus and rail investment plan. She would like to see the big picture of 49 how this all fits into the larger bus and rail investment plan as it relates to costs and revenues.