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5 <br /> 1 Council Member Ed Hooks said the Burlington System could be petitioned, as in the <br /> 2 past; however results have been dissatisfactory in value for service. He said it would be ideal to <br /> 3 have a system in Mebane where citizens could connect more easily. <br /> 4 Council Member Everette Greene said he sees buses from Orange County in Mebane <br /> 5 all of the time, with many stops throughout Mebane. He said the bus routes are well used. <br /> 6 Commissioner Jacobs asked if the PART system, which goes to the University of North <br /> 7 Carolina (UNC) Hospital, also goes through Mebane. <br /> 8 Council Member Ed Hooks said yes, about 4 times per day. He said the missing piece <br /> 9 of the puzzle is the residents of Mebane being able to get to the hub. <br /> 10 Commissioner Price asked if the locations of the bus stops in Mebane could be <br /> 11 identified. <br /> 12 Council Member Ed Hooks said Cone Health, Tanger Outlet, and City Hall. <br /> 13 Chris Rollins said when Burlington spoke to Mebane about its routes, there was very <br /> 14 positive conversations with OPT regarding the Hillsborough Circulator route. He said nothing <br /> 15 came of those conversations at that time, but it garnered useful information for future plans. <br /> 16 Commissioner Rich said this is a 5-year plan, and asked Peter Murphy if he could clarify <br /> 17 how long it takes to gather data in order to determine that the routes are working. <br /> 18 Peter Murphy said a route will likely be left to run for about a year, in order to get the <br /> 19 proper analysis. He said from there, routes will be adjusted as needed. <br /> 20 Commissioner Price asked if the buses are going both directions at one time, or is it <br /> 21 similar to the circulator. <br /> 22 Peter Murphy said there is only one bus operating on it now. He said there is argument <br /> 23 that the more frequent a service is offered, the greater the ridership; but it is a balance figuring it <br /> 24 out. <br /> 25 Commissioner Price asked if combining the Efland-Hillsborough with the Orange <br /> 26 Alamance was ever considered. <br /> 27 Peter Murphy said they have complementing services during the peak hours. <br /> 28 Peter Murphy resumed the presentation: <br /> 29 <br /> 30 Orange County OPT Ridership Data FY2014-2015 (graph) <br /> 31 <br /> 32 OPT Service Improvements <br /> 33 • Fareboxes approved <br /> 34 o Electronic bus passes <br /> 35 o GoPass capability <br /> 36 • Technology approved <br /> 37 o Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs) <br /> 38 o Passenger Call Back System <br /> 39 <br /> 40 Commissioner Pelissier said the ridership, shown in the PowerPoint presentation, has <br /> 41 gone up, which is encouraging as other bus ridership have gone down, like GoTriangle, and <br /> 42 Durham. <br /> 43 Commissioner Pelissier said Duke University is prominent in the success of the Orange <br /> 44 Alamance because they surveyed their own employees and their riding needs. <br /> 45 <br /> 46 3. Planning and Development <br /> 47 <br /> 48 Background: Orange County Planning staff, primarily Perdita Holtz, has been participating in <br /> 49 the City of Mebane's planning efforts related to the "Mebane by Design" comprehensive land <br /> 50 development plan. The planning effort is led by Piedmont Triad Regional Council planning staff <br />