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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY <br />Orange County Public Transportation (OPT) provides transit service throughout Orange County, <br />including both demand response and fixed-route service. Identifying performance of the existing <br />system, areas of unmet transit demand, assessing priorities of passengers, and prioritizing service <br />improvements with a limited budget are keys to addressing the needs of the community. To <br />ensure integrated, high performing transit service across the region, OPT’s Short Range Transit <br />Plan (SRTP) assesses the market for transit service, operations in Orange County, and prioritizes <br />future recommendations. <br />Existing Conditions <br />OPT currently operates three midday/off peak, weekday, fixed-route bus services in Orange <br />County—the Hillsborough Circulator, the Orange-Chapel Hill Midday Connector, and the Orange- <br />Alamance Connector, as shown in Figure ES-1. <br />As part of the SRTP, an analysis was conducted to provide an overview of the operating context <br />for OPT, demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, and general system performance. <br />Findings included the following: <br />ƒThere is opportunity to improve ridership on existing services. The Hillsborough <br />Circulator and the Orange-Chapel Hill Midday Connector serve approximately 64 and 15 <br />average daily riders, respectively. <br />ƒPopulation density in Orange County outside of Chapel Hill and Carrboro is relatively <br />low. The majority of the county does not have the population or employment density to <br />support fixed-route transit. <br />ƒThe most common commute destinations for north Orange County residents are to <br />Hillsborough, Durham, and Chapel Hill. <br />Public Outreach <br />Two phases of outreach were conducted as part of the SRTP—the first phase took place in <br />November 2017 to understand the needs of existing riders and non-riders, and the second phase <br />occurred in September 2018 to confirm future service priorities. Top priorities from each of the <br />outreach phases included the following: <br />ƒImproving weekday and Saturday service frequency and providing later evening service <br />ƒImproving local circulation in Hillsborough and providing connections to Chapel Hill