Minutes 06-17-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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advertising of this service. She suggested staff follow through on some suggestions that were given at their last Durham/Chapel Hill/ Orange Work Group meeting. Commissioner Rich said she was one of the people who did not think OPT should be a fare free service. She does not think this is sustainable. She said, to avoid problems down the road, she would not want this to be a free bus service. She said she is primarily giving this opinion to OPT. She agreed that it makes sense to have a monthly pass or something similar. Commissioner Gordon said she expects this will come back for work sessions in the fall. She asked for information on how the ODX and anything else proposed in the next five years will fit into the bus and rail investment plan and the implementation agreement. She asked for a big picture view of how this bus service fits into the broader plan. She asked for clarification on how the costs and the revenues work out. She noted that OPT charges much less ($44 per bus hour) than anyone else for bus service hours. She said she knows there are reasons why TTA has to charge more. She asked what the amount is for TTA. John Tallmadge said TTA is budgeting $114 per bus hour in the upcoming fiscal year. Commissioner Gordon said this is a large difference, and she wants to make sure OPT is capturing all of the costs. She said the difference also makes it difficult to determine how to allocate money from the bus and rail investment plan. She would like to see the big picture of how this all fits into the larger bus and rail investment plan as it relates to costs and revenues. Commissioner Gordon said she would prefer a full map of Orange County for both option 1 and option 2. Commissioner Gordon asked what the southern county zoning route is. Bret Martin said that is the same concept as what was put together for the north eastern and north western, and it would be a dial a ride service with scheduled pick up. Commissioner Price said she was hoping to have balance on these fares, since some employers in Durham are giving out free fare passes, and there are free bus fares in Chapel Hill. She would like to find a way to equalize this, as some people will have to take different types of transportation. She said she wouldn't want to charge for some routes and not others. She said bus fares in the past have not really paid for the bus service, but it is good to have fares to show good stewardship. She wants to see balance and equity in the charges for all of the different modes. Chair Jacobs said there will be discussion of this at a future work session. He said he would like to explore offering passes to Orange County employees who commute. He would like to add this to the conversation in the fall. Commissioner Pelissier referred to Commissioner Gordon's questions. She noted that on page 17 of the plan adopted by Durham and Orange County, an express route between Mebane, Hillsborough and Durham is listed. She said this route is implementation of that plan that was adopted A motion was made by Commissioner Pelissier, seconded by Commissioner Rich for the Board to: 1. Endorse the proposed ODX service to be operated by TTA in central Orange County; and 2. Receive and consider any possible necessary discussion regarding the proposed program Options #1 and #2 (Attachment 3) for OPT and potentially consider endorsement of one of the options if deemed appropriate at this time. Commissioner Gordon said she knows that the ODX route is on the plan. She said her question was regarding other routes that will be brought up in the 5 year period and how the OPT routes fold in.