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93 <br /> Chapter 5: Organizational Options <br /> Option 4: Consolidation with Another System/Regional Coordination <br /> OPT fixed-route public services are complementary to scheduled services provided by <br /> GoTriangle Transit (the Orange-Durham Express and the Route 420), and Chapel Hill <br /> Transit (both in its role as the operator of the Route 42o and as provider of transit in <br /> Chapel Hill and Carrboro). Orange County is further linked with these providers through <br /> the MPO and the regional sales tax. Both of these providers also offer demand-response <br /> services (to meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements for complementary <br /> paratransit for eligible riders). They each have their own administrative and planning <br /> functions, and another option would be to consolidate OPT with one or the other.A <br /> much more detailed study of the feasibility of consolidating OPT with Chapel Hill Transit <br /> (CHT) was conducted three years ago, and it found that it was feasible in a general sense, <br /> but that it would require $400,000 to $500,000 in transition costs to incorporate OPT's <br /> scheduling and client database into the CHT ADA scheduling software, pave enough area <br /> at the CHT garage to park the OPT vehicles, and rebrand the services. There were also <br /> issues with potential confusion over fare policy, as CHT operated fare-free but the County <br /> services would have to charge fares.At the time Orange County perceived that it could <br /> provide these services more cost-effectively, and that is probably still the case though it is <br /> apparent that OPT costs are much higher than was understood at the time. Also, the CHT <br /> partners did not perceive much benefit to the Town, and were concerned about further <br /> adding to the capital replacement problems. <br /> Revisiting the potential for consolidation with CHT's Director, Brian Litchfield, in August <br /> of this year, he characterized the staff position toward consolidation as one of being open <br /> to proposals from the County, but he noted that CHT's policy boards would have to <br /> consider any such request. CHT has continued to run the Shuttle service, directed at <br /> seniors in Chapel Hill and serving the County's Senior Center, a service which <br /> complements OPT senior services elsewhere. At the staff level CHT is also open to <br /> collaborations on particular functions, which opens up the possibility of achieving many <br /> of the potential benefits of consolidation without having Orange County become the <br /> smallest partner, and potentially losing some control over services to its residents outside <br /> Chapel Hill and Carrboro. For example, some systems have created shared dispatch <br /> centers to take advantage of the scale economies in the deployment of transit technology. <br /> Also, collaborative marketing would make sense to let users know how these services <br /> work together—currently the 420 schedule information provided by CHT does not <br /> mention that there are mid-day services provided by OPT (nor does the GoTriangle <br /> timetable). <br /> Similarly, a conversation with John Talmadge, director of planning at Triangle Transit <br /> (branded as GoTriangle), reflected an openness at the staff level to a wide variety of <br /> collaborative possibilities. Triangle Transit manages the Durham transit system under <br /> contract, and such an arrangement is one possibility. During the previous consolidation <br /> FH <br /> NCDOT Orange County 77 <br /> Transit Assessment Study <br />