Agenda - 04-27-2017 - 1 - Consideration of the Final Draft Durham – Orange Light Rail Cost Sharing Agreement and Final Draft Orange County Transit Plan

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45 Orange County Transit Plan April 25, 2017 3. Status of Funding Assumptions Since the adoption of the 2012 Plan, changes have been made The original Plan applied the same funding assumptions to by the U.S. Congress to the federal transportation funding laws, vehicles and bus facilities. In response to the new funding in addition to changes made by the North Carolina General environment, the transit providers have developed separate Assembly to the way that state funding decisions are made. In assumptions for vehicles and bus facilities. response to these changes, transit providers have updated their assumptions for the share of Tax District Revenues required to implement this updated Plan. The impacts of these The 2012 Plan assumed that bus purchases and bus facilities changes are described below. would receive 80 percent of the funding from discretionary federal grants, consistent with prior experience. However, shortly following adoption of the 2012 Plan, a new federal The original Plan assumed the operations and maintenance transportation law was passed, MAP-21, which eliminated the (O&M) of expansion bus services would be funded by a opportunity for transit agencies to compete for federal grant combination of formula-driven federal and state grants as well funding for buses and bus facilities. It was replaced with a as transit fares. In the 2017 Plan, Chapel Hill Transit and Orange formula-driven grant program that would not support the County Public Transportation (OPT) assume that Tax District expansions at the levels outlined in the 2012 Plan. For example, Revenues will fund 90 percent of their O&M costs for expansion in the last year of the previous federal transportation law, bus services. Additionally, Chapel Hill Transit and OPT assume Congress allocated $984 million nationwide to bus and bus they will use 100 percent of the proceeds from the seven dollar facilities purchase. In the first year of MAP-21, the total vehicle registration fee to fund the Increased Cost of Existing allocation was $421 million. In 2015, another federal Service. This reduces the availability of funds for expansion transportation law was passed, the FAST Act, which restored services. some discretionary funding for replacement bus purchases, but not for expansion vehicles. GoTriangle now assumes Tax District Revenues will fund 75 percent of its O&M costs for expansion bus services. The To address these changes, this Plan reduces the assumed share remaining 25 percent will be funded by state operating grants of federal revenues available for bus capital projects from 80 (10 percent) and fare revenues (15 percent). GoTriangle does percent to approximately 44 percent, meaning it is now not use any of the Tax District Revenues to support the assumed the Tax District Revenues will fund a higher share of Increased Cost of Existing Service. these projects. Final Page 21 of 65