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79 <br /> Chapter 5: Organizational Options <br /> Chapter 5 : Organizational Options <br /> TRANSIT ORGANIZATION <br /> One relatively unique aspect of Orange County's transit organization is the internal <br /> organization. Few systems have transit administration, management or operations included in <br /> a department of planning and inspections. It is not unusual for transit planning, grants <br /> management and contract oversight for a small urban or rural transit program to be located in <br /> a planning department. In most cases, the operations are managed and provided by another <br /> agency, often a contractor. In Orange County, the operations functions are not separate;they <br /> are under Planning and Inspections. More commonly, transit programs that involve county or <br /> city operations are located in a department that provides public services, with a transit <br /> management that oversees operational and short range planning. In this case long range and <br /> multimodal planning functions remain in a department of planning. There is no single correct <br /> model of transit organization that fits all cases. <br /> Transit programs (that are not independent authorities) are generally found in one of three <br /> departments: <br /> i)A public works and transportation department <br /> z) A department of community/citizen services <br /> 3) A separate department reporting to the executive level <br /> A factor in deciding whether the transit program reports directly to the executive as a <br /> department unto itself or through another department may be the scale of the program in <br /> relation to the other operational programs, as well as the degree to which the operational <br /> nature of transit fits with the other functions of its departmental home. The appropriate home <br /> for a transit program may also depend on the degree of interaction between it and other <br /> departments or programs,which can vary with the type of transit operation.A transit program <br /> that provides substantial service to human service agencies will have a significant amouont of <br /> interaction with the aging program, social services and health department;while a transit <br /> program that provides only fixed route general public service may have much less interaction <br /> with those departments. <br /> The appropriate home for transit may change over time. For example, in a recent <br /> reorganization of transportation in the Town of Cary, transit became an office in a new <br /> department of transportation and facilities, moving from its former home in planning. The <br /> transit division does operational and short range transportation planning, grants management <br /> KFH <br /> NCDOT Orange County 63 <br /> Transit Assessment Study <br />