Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
26 <br /> <br /> 1 <br />Conclusion: 2 <br />OCPT is on the move and ready to provide SAFE, CUSTOMER FOCUSED, and QUALITY 3 <br />Transportation services for our community, Orange County North Carolina. 4 <br /> 5 <br /> 6 <br />Questions 7 <br /> 8 <br />Commissioner Jacobs asked if the total number of employees could be shared. 9 <br />Theo Letman said 20 currently, and they will be advertising soon. 10 <br />Commissioner Jacobs asked if OCPT is moving toward the automated counting of 11 <br />passengers. 12 <br />Theo Letman said yes. 13 <br />Commissioner Jacobs said it is a significant initial investment, but the County can realize 14 <br />more federal funds in the future. 15 <br />Theo Letman said absolutely. 16 <br />Commissioner Jacobs said at MPO meetings, Orange County does not get as much 17 <br />money as other jurisdictions. He said it is an important investment, and he suggested adding 18 <br />this information to the report. 19 <br />Commissioner Price referred to page 16, and asked if more money is being made and 20 <br />more service hours provided, how the average number of riders per day went down. 21 <br />Theo Letman said this number went down as more days were counted in the 2016-17 22 <br />report. 23 <br />Commissioner Rich asked if there are other needs in the County. 24 <br />Theo Letman said there is a need for more nimble “demand response” services to reach 25 <br />out, such as a transit version of Uber and Lyft. He said currently most demand response 26 <br />services are non-emergency medical transportation, but there are people who want to go 27 <br />shopping or to a job interview; they could subscribe and transit could dispatch. 28 <br />Commissioner Rich asked if there is a method to decide the cost of such rides. 29 <br />Theo Letman said that would be at the discretion of the Board. 30 <br />Commissioner Rich asked if there is currently a fee. 31 <br />Theo Letman said the Hillsborough Circulator has no fee. 32 <br />Commissioner Rich asked if the demand response services have a fee. 33 <br />Theo Letman said there is a fee for these services, which are based on the type of grant 34 <br />received. 35 <br />Commissioner Rich clarified that fixed routes in rural areas are not ideal for 36 <br />transportation. 37 <br />Theo Letman said these routes could be useful, but nimble on-demand services would 38 <br />be better. 39 <br />Commissioner Marcoplos asked if the type of event, done in conjunction with CHALT, 40 <br />could be identified. 41 <br />Theo Letman said it was a presentation made by Craig Benedict during the Durham-42 <br />Orange light rail discussion. 43 <br />Chair Dorosin asked, when the department is doing planning and public meetings, if the 44 <br />Hillsborough planning department is involved or will be, due to increased growth. 45 <br />Theo Letman said he would hope so. 46 <br />Chair Dorosin applauded the recognition of employees of the month. He said he would 47 <br />like to talk about the bus. He said the County was asking the State to put in $30,000, and, if 48 <br />granted, the County would incur the rest of the expenses. He asked if there are funds available 49 <br />to cover the $30,000 should the BOCC add this item to the budget. 50