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54 <br />55 Peter Murphy shared that the assessment study prepared by KFH group, the consultants hired by NCDOT to <br />56 review Orange County public transportation, is working on the study's final version and there are a few changes <br />57 still coming. He gave an overview of it to the Board. <br />58 <br />59 Heidi Perry asked Peter what Light Transit Vehicle meant. <br />60 <br />61 Peter Murphy responded that Light Transit Vehicle (LTV) is the mid -size bus. The seating can range from 14 to <br />62 24 passengers. <br />63 <br />64 Erle Smith asked about driver population. <br />65 <br />66 Peter Murphy replied that they recently added 7 drivers and now are up to 15 and will be hiring more which will <br />67 coincide with future additional service. <br />68 <br />69 Alex Castro asked about coverage for the dispatch function if the only employee in that position is out. <br />70 <br />71 Peter Murphy responded that they are a small operation and right now he and Malcolm are in the office along <br />72 with two other people and everyone does crossover functions. They may be looking at adding additional <br />73 personnel in the new budget year. <br />74 <br />75 Erle Smith asked what the utilization rate is for drivers and vehicles across the 12 hour time frame. <br />76 <br />77 Peter Murphy noted that using the software they can predict that and noted things will be tweaked to merge them <br />78 together. The drivers don't do just one thing all day. The bulk of the work right now is demand response. Taking <br />79 people to doctor appointments and this varies. <br />80 <br />81 Heidi Perry asked about the life expectancy for a bus. <br />82 <br />83 Peter Murphy responded that it is probably 4 to 5 years. <br />84 <br />85 Alex Castro asked if the replacement cycle is 4 years. <br />86 <br />87 Peter Murphy noted it is predicted based on mileage. <br />88 <br />89 Ted Triebel asked if it is cost effective. <br />90 <br />91 Peter Murphy noted that information will be part of the next quarterly meeting. <br />92 <br />93 Heidi Perry asked how they are getting the word out. <br />94 <br />95 Peter Murphy noted that so far it is done internally through the media department. <br />96 <br />97 Heidi Perry commented about whether advertising could be put in place with the hospital and court systems, <br />98 etc., giving people information about the availability of transportation between Chapel Hill and Hillsborough. <br />99 <br />100 Alex Castro commented that the Dept. of Aging is working on this too. <br />101 <br />102 Ted Triebel asked what the drivers are paid. <br />103 <br />104 Peter Murphy responded that most drivers earn between $13 to $17 an hour. The starting rate is better than <br />105 most in the area. The drivers of the larger buses like they have in Chapel Hill do get paid more. <br />106 <br />