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Alex Castro asked about the age of the fleet. Theo Letman answered that just before he assumed the Director 54 position the County replaced some vehicles and the older ones are now on a schedule to be replaced. The 55 replacement vehicles have a lower profile. Also, there has been positive feedback on the new logo, which is on all 56 vehicles. 57 58 Theo Letman noted that the Orange-Alamance Connector was implemented in December and he shared its route. 59 There is intention to market the route to increase ridership and an effort to include Tanger Outlet Mall in its route. It 60 currently runs from northern Hillsborough to the Cone Health facility in Mebane. 61 62 Theo Letman shared a photograph of a Simme Seat recently installed to serve as the bus stop in front of UNC 63 Hospitals in Hillsborough. He noted this photograph would be appearing in AARP’s national publication. 64 65 Theo Letman reviewed that staff members in his department have become active members of several national 66 industry organizations and have taken training opportunities. His department also created an employee-of-the-month 67 program. He shared slides of statistics and data and noted that a contractor, Nelson-Nygaard, will be working with his 68 department to create a 100-year plan addressing future growth scenarios. Public meetings will be held to share the 69 needs of OCPT. 70 71 Alex Castro noted that demand response generates the highest ridership, as Theo Letman had shared, and asked 72 whether the department has smaller vehicles to transport one or a few people rather than using a bus. Theo Letman 73 answered that the department does not at this time but is considering using a 20-foot bus or a van in the future. His 74 department is exploring moving toward an Uber style of service where one can schedule a trip from a cell phone. 75 76 Theo Letman reviewed that the Hillsborough Circulator II scored well for SPOT funding but it was pulled out by the D-77 CH-C MPO. He reviewed potential technology improvements including automated passenger counters and dispatch 78 scheduling software. 79 80 Alex Castro asked if AVL will be available to customers. Theo Letman answered it is called NextBus and you can use 81 it on your phone. He noted that TARPO scored 100 points for two vehicles. 82 83 David Laudicina asked if there is any document that shows how much new equipment or services have been funded 84 by the light rail bond. Theo Letman answered that GoTriangle publishes an annual report that has that information, 85 available on the GoTriangle website. 86 87 Donna Musson said there was talk in the past of hiring someone specifically for billing through NCTracks, (the multi-88 payer Medicaid management information system for the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services) because it 89 is cumbersome and she is wondering if there has been progress on that hiring. Theo Letman answered that he 90 attended a conference in Wilmington on NCTracks and found that every provider in the state is having problems with 91 it. His department cannot load trips into the software, which is required to receive Medicaid reimbursement. 92 93 Donna Musson said she has to use it for her work and has to procure older equipment to interface with it. 94 95 Alex Castro asked whether the department has had trouble getting drivers and/or keeping them. Theo Letman 96 answered that he has been able to hire and retain drivers and even attract experienced drivers from other agencies. 97 98 Public Health Education Director Donna King informed the Board that Allyson Coltrane was working on creating an 99 event to provide an opportunity for local service providers to take a transit ride so that they can be better informed 100 about the system that some of their clients use. This was also done a year ago, before Coltrane joined the newly 101 created department. 102 103 Alex Castro asked whether there is communication between the different transit service providers. Theo Letman 104 answered that there are regular meetings to discuss the connections and to make sure the timing is right for the 105 connections. He added that he is finding that a lot of folks want to go straight into Durham to the VA Hospital and to 106 Chapel Hill as well. Those preferences have been noted for the 10-year transit plan. 107 4