Minutes 09-11-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Bret Martin reviewed the maps for option #2 service concepts, and said these slides only highlight the things that are different from option #1. These differences are listed in red on the PowerPoint slides. He said option #2 for the US 70 mid-day service would not provide service to Durham. He said one reason for this proposal is the fact that the budget only allows for the inclusion of 2 hour directional headways. He said this option would allow for 1 hour directional headways and would be more user friendly, but it would not provide service to Durham. He said because more money is put into the budget for the northeastern, northwestern zonal routes, as well as the southern expansion, money is then taken away from the Efland- Hillsborough Commuter Service, and this service would not exist. Bret Martin reviewed the chart titled Mix and Match: Option #3 and he said all of the chart items highlighted in Orange are mix and match options. He said this plan has been put together very conservatively, only assuming revenue made available by Triangle Transit. He referenced the ranked chart of unfunded concepts that might be implemented in the event of additional funding. Craig Benedict said this proposal assumes 100 percent funding from the Orange County Bus and Rail Investment Plan, and it is not using other sources that will likely be available. He said this means that perhaps there will not be so many unfunded priorities. Bret Martin said that Commissioner Gordon had posed some questions regarding assumed costs built into the program. He said Orange County Bus and Rail Investment Plan, when it was developed, assumed an OPT operating cost of$58 per hour. He said he has gone back and looked at OPT's budget for the past two fiscal years, as well as the County's indirect cost allocation plan. He said the $58 per hour figure was developed based on everything, including overhead, and operating costs. He said when talking about adding new service, the concern is about isolating the marginal costs of providing that service, which came out to be $45 per hour. Craig Benedict said this item will come back on a regular meeting agenda to proceed toward finite marketing of a program that would likely start in February of 2015. Commissioner Rich asked for more explanation of the demand response versus the deviated route. She said the demand response is an expensive trip. She asked if a bus is actually held for demand response use. Peter Murphy said all demand response trips are booked two days in advance and no buses are held. He said the two day notice allows for scheduling of drivers one day in advance. He said the difference between the demand and deviated routes is that you can put fixed route stops out there for deviated route service, and if there are no calls the bus only runs to those fixed stops. He said you can deviate off of this based off of calls that do come in. Commissioner Rich asked how much the deviated route costs versus the demand route. Peter Murphy said a price has not been set, but right now the charge for demand response services is $3 for those who are eligible. He said this is a subsidized service, and the cost that Medicaid and the general public pay is $12.75. Bret Martin said there is no true deviated fixed route for the general public now, so no fare is being charged. He said the idea of the program is to charge a higher fare for those who request a deviation than for those who are picked up at fixed stops. Craig Benedict reviewed the routes on a map. Commissioner Gordon referred to the public comments and noted that option 2 was in response to option 1.