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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: October 20, 2015 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 8-a <br /> SUBJECT: Report on the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) <br /> Assessment of Orange Public Transit (OPT) <br /> DEPARTMENT: County Manager PUBLIC HEARING: (YIN) No <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> 1) NCDOT Scope - OPT Assessment <br /> Study Bonnie Hammersley, 919-245-2300 <br /> UNDER SEPARATE COVER <br /> 2) Orange County Public <br /> Transportation Assessment Study, <br /> Including Executive Summary <br /> PURPOSE: To receive a report on the North Carolina Department of Transportation <br /> (NCDOT) Orange County Public Transportation Assessment Study. <br /> BACKGROUND: A few years ago the state funded an effort to develop a Community <br /> Transportation Services Plan (CTSP). The Plan focused on the consolidation of OPT <br /> with Chapel Hill Transit, but work on the study was suspended because the state <br /> determined that neither the County nor the Town were interested in pursuing <br /> consolidation. At the time the study was suspended, preliminary findings suggested <br /> that OPT's costs were likely higher than those reported to the state, that ridership <br /> figures were unreliable, and that consolidation would likely require capital expenditures <br /> for facility expansion and incremental expansion of Chapel Hill's scheduling software <br /> and hardware. <br /> In 2014 NCDOT performed a System Safety Program Plan (SSPP) review of OPT. This <br /> plan identified a number of issues related to safety and vehicle maintenance. Based on <br /> the safety issues contained in the System Safety report and the preliminary findings in <br /> the consolidation study, the County Manager initiated a meeting with representatives <br /> from the NCDOT Public Transportation Division. At the meeting NCDOT <br /> representatives indicated a willingness to use the remaining funds from the suspended <br /> consolidation study to conduct a comprehensive assessment of OPT. The scope of this <br /> assessment is included as Attachment 1. Since the comprehensive study was funded <br /> using the balance of funds from the original study, NCDOT also required the County to <br /> use the consultant that had been engaged to conduct the original study. <br />