Minutes 06-17-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Bret Martin reviewed the map of the Orange Durham express. He said this service will be operated between 6:00 and 9:00 am and 4:00 and 7:00 pm, and will involve 3 runs in the peak direction and the off-peak direction. He said the peak direction run will start in Mebane, head to Hillsborough, and then hit the Duke/VA hospital area and downtown Durham. He said phase 1 of this service is anticipated to begin in August, and this will be from Hillsborough to Durham, making use of a temporary park and ride at North Hills shopping center. He said phase 2 service from Mebane is anticipated to begin in January. He said the off-peak service will run from downtown Durham to the VA/Duke Hospital area, Hillsborough, Efland, and Mebane. Bret Martin referenced the chart titled Differences in Options #1 and#2. He said Option1 includes the program concepts brought before the Board on May 8th and presented to the public. He said option 2 makes some tweaks to this, and those tweaks are highlighted in yellow. He said the north eastern and north western demand routes are increased from one day a week to 2 days a week in option 2. He said option 2 also expands service to the southern part of the County with this same 2 day a week concept. He said the other change is that option 2 changes the Mebane-Efland-Hillsborough mid day service from a 2-hour headway to a 1 hour headway. He said option 2 also does away with the Efland-Hillsborough Commuter Loop. Bret Martin said there is also a 3�d option of mixing and matching to do what is important. He said this option was added in order to be responsive to public comment and to highlight the fact that adding one thing means taking away from something else. He noted that the program is financially constrained. John Tallmadge from Triangle Transit arrived. He said most public interest has been around the OPT services. He said his board takes the item up on June 25, and if approved, it will be implemented on August 1 gtn Commissioner Pelissier thanked staff for working on this. She reminded everyone that the Orange Durham express route was in the plan, and everyone is very excited about this route. She asked how this will be advertised to the public. She asked if Duke University will help advertise, since many of those surveyed were Duke employees. John Tallmadge said there will be a concerted effort with Duke to do some advertising. He said Duke offers a go pass to their employees; so the fare would be free for the employees, and Duke pays TTA per boarding. He said the service, the direct information from the employer, and the subsidy will be the primary market. He said there is also a staff person who works with major employers throughout the County to create program awareness. Commissioner McKee asked about the timing of additional stops. He asked what the process will be for adding stops after this route is up and running. He said he can think of two other stops needed along the 70 corridor. John Tallmadge said there are multiple sources to get information regarding the addition of new stops. He said the considerations are whether the stop is along the current route and whether there is time in the schedule to add another stop. He said if these two considerations are met, then a professional judgment is made regarding whether or not there is there enough demand to add the additional stop. He said stops are easier to add on the reverse commute direction, as this does not delay the riders going in the time sensitive direction. Commissioner McKee said this may be able to be addressed with the OPT service, but he wants to make sure those residents along Highway 70 can utilize this service. John Tallmadge said one other consideration is whether the stop is a safe location. Commissioner Rich referred to Commissioner Pelissier's question regarding the