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2 T:\Advisory Boards\Orange Unified Transportation Board\Minutes\2006\OUTBoard Minutes 10-18-06.doc 2 Tillman asked how the budget is allocated. Spade responded that the Town of Chapel Hill provides $2.9 million, Town of Carrboro $0.3 million, and the UNC system $5.3 million. There are also state and federal subsidies that are allocated by the size of the municipalities served and service provided (population and routes). Those subsidies do not include the express service to UNC. UNC pays 100% of service to UNC. Peterson asked if records were maintained to determine the miles-per-gallon (mpg) based on ridership. Spade said that he is uncertain of the various formulas, but it has been estimated that the diesel rates are 3.5 mpg. He said that they measure the performance of the system by the number of passengers-per-hour. Smith asked if numbers were available for passengers-per-mile, or passengers-per- hour. She also asked if advertising was an option for additional funds. Spade said that advertising revenue is minimal, approximately $15,000 per year. The national standard ridership goal is 2.5 passengers-per-mile, or 14 - 20 passengers-per-hour system-wide. Chapel Hill Transit serves approximately 4 passengers-per-mile, and 35-40 passengers-per-hour, which is average for college towns. However, the ridership varies greatly by route. Mittendorf asked about the locations for the Park-and-Ride lots, and Spade indicated that general public lots were located on Eubanks Road, Highway 54 East, Southern Village, Jones Ferry Road, NC 54 at Carrboro Plaza, East Franklin Street/Estes Drive, and a near-term future route at the Bible Church off Erwin Road. Mittendorf asked about the frequency of trips with the Park-and-Ride system. Spade said that there is generally a 5-10 minute headway time during rush hours. Smith asked if there was an agreement with University Mall to use their lot for the Tarheel Express, and Spade responded that this is not an advertised location, but the new management is more favorable to discussions about this. Tillman asked if Chapel Hill Transit had considered the impact on private transportation, with the anticipated increased ridership. Spade responded that he had not yet been introduced to this issue, but suspects that when they went to a free fare policy, it had a major impact. Tillman said that in Durham, they have a subsidized system for cabs. Spade was not aware of the impact of this type of arrangement, but mentioned that Chapel Hill Transit has a different role in that the emphasis is on students and the University. Grossman added that the system is geared towards providing service to a hub – downtown Chapel Hill. Spade agreed and said that it’s a challenge to know how far people will travel to get a free ride into town. Baker asked about the potential of coordinating bus service with the Chapel Hill school system. Spade said that this could be an unmet need, and that CHT will discuss with the school district, probably within the next year. When he worked in Des Moines, the system transported 3,000 kids to the city school, and there was a lot of duplication of routes between the school system and the bus system. A study undertaken there indicated that the City could save money in school bus service