Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
61 <br /> Chapter 4: Planned Services <br /> Chapter 4 : Planned Services <br /> CURRENT SERVICE PLANS <br /> Orange Public Transit (OPT) existing services were described in detail in Chapter i. This <br /> section of this document is intended to describe the near-term (one- to- three years) planned <br /> service expansions as a factor for consideration in developing organizational options. <br /> Following the November 2012 referendum in favor of the half cent sales tax increase to support <br /> additional investment in transit, in December 2012 the Orange County Board of County <br /> Commissioners (BOCC) authorized a seven dollar increase in the vehicle registration fee and <br /> the implementation of the sales tax.At the same time the results of the 2010 Census resulted in <br /> a change in the boundaries of the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Urbanized Area to include <br /> more of Orange County. This shifted the basic source of transit funding for that area from the <br /> Federal Transit Administration's (FTA's) Section 5311 rural program (implemented in by the <br /> North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) as the Community Transportation <br /> Program (CTP) to the Section 5307 Urbanized Area program. These changes together created <br /> the opportunity for Orange County to develop plans for an expanded public transit program. <br /> The Bus and Rail Investment Plan in Orange County (Orange Transit Plan) was adopted by the <br /> BOCC in October of 2012 as the basis for expanded services using the sales tax revenue, in <br /> anticipation of the passage of the referendum. The planning process leading up to this plan <br /> included substantial public input over a two-year period. The plan was developed with joint <br /> participation from Triangle Transit, Orange County, municipalities and the Durham-Chapel <br /> Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHCMPO). It has a number of elements <br /> including new light rail service, a new Hillsborough Amtrak station, bus lanes on Martin <br /> Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Chapel Hill and new bus services (and bus capital to support the <br /> service). The focus of this section of the study is the local (rural and urban) bus service <br /> expansion planned for Orange County outside Durham and Chapel Hill/Carrboro. This refers <br /> to the portions of the Orange Transit Plan slated for operation by OPT, in relation to the <br /> regional service expansions planned for operation by GoTriangle. <br /> These services were developed by Orange County planning staff, based in part on demographic <br /> analysis performed as part of a previous study. That study examined the potential feasibility of <br /> consolidating OPT with Chapel Hill Transit's ADA operations, and to a large extent on public <br /> and policy-maker input. The demographic needs analysis from that study is included as <br /> Appendix D. The planned services are illustrated in Figure 4-1, depicting the rural route <br /> deviation service areas, and in Figure 4-2, depicting the fixed routes. <br /> KFH <br /> NCDOT Orange County 45 <br /> Transit Assessment Study <br />