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6 <br />II. First Five Years <br />1. Organization. The authority has been officially created and all 13 authority board members <br />appointed (a list of Board Members is attached). A General Manager has been hired, an <br />accounting system developed, office space, furniture and equipment procured. These <br />activities have been accomplished with the assistance of a Transit Development Grant from the <br />North Carolina Department of Transportation. <br />2. Rideshare Operations. The first operational service of the Authority is the regional <br />ridesharing program, called TRI -A -RIDE. TRI -A -RIDE provides carpool and vanpool matching <br />services for commuters, leases vans to vanpoolers, and works closely with larger employers to <br />establish and maintain customized ridesharing programs for employees. The TRI -A -RIDE <br />program was previously operated by the Triangle J Council of Governments and became a TTA <br />responsibility in January 1991. <br />3. Regional Bus Service. During the coming fiscal year, the Authority will link the three <br />counties to the Research Triangle Park and the airport. Utilizing the most cost effective option, <br />the regional bus service may be provided by private contractors, or existing public providers. <br />This bus service will accomplish the following objectives: <br />(a) connect the city transit systems in Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill; <br />(b) provide bus service to the Raleigh- Durham International Airport and the Research Triangle <br />Park; <br />(c) provide a limited amount of peak hour service from smaller outlying communities into the <br />core system (for example U.S. 64 east or U.S. 1 north into Raleigh). <br />This system will perform several valuable functions. It will provide access particularly for city <br />residents to jobs in the suburbs, Cary, the airport, and RTP. It will link the universities in the <br />region, and it will begin the process of increasing the variety of mobility options available to <br />relieve an overtaxed automobile -based transportation network. <br />4. HOV Lanes. The TTA will work,with the NCDOT on planning for a high occupancy vehicle <br />(HOV) lane on 1 -40. Express bus transit service, vanpooling and carpooling, park and ride lots, <br />and other activities of the authority will be incorporated into the planning for a separated HOV <br />a <br />