Agenda - 04-20-2021; 8-a - Minutes

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26 1 Theo Letman said families really excited about opportunities for shopping and getting to 2 and from work after normal services have stopped. 3 Commissioner Hamilton referred to the round trip fare from northern Orange County to 4 Chapel Hill, and clarified that this would it be $15 each way. 5 Theo Letman said yes. 6 Commissioner Hamilton asked if it is $15 per person, or would a family pay $15. 7 Theo Letman said that is a good question, and they would probably charge one rate for 8 the whole family. 9 Commissioner Hamilton asked if there was a process used to determine the rates, and is 10 there a ridership threshold that needs to be met to make the project viable. 11 Theo Letman said a fare study was completed, and looked at similar services in other 12 areas, and this price point was acceptable and user friendly. He said this is a pilot program, 13 and they will accept comments. 14 Commissioner Hamilton asked if a certain projected ridership is desired. 15 Theo Letman said staff ran scenarios, which he will send to the BOCC. He said this is a 16 choice ride program, and he thinks it will expand the existing services, and is likely the 17 transportation of the future. 18 Commissioner Dorosin said all of the vehicles involved are vans, which seems counter 19 intuitive if only one person is being collected. He said private ride sharing services will charge a 20 little less if one shares with another person. He said, environmentally, the booking software 21 should provide an option to ride share and maximize van trips. 22 Theo Letman said the vans have a capacity of five people, but COVID-19 precautions 23 mean that the vans are not full due to social distancing at this time. He said if the demand is 24 high, the full transit fleet could be brought in. 25 Commissioner Dorosin said, in the future, the program should look at other types of 26 vehicles, such as electric, to reduce the environmental impact. 27 Commissioner Dorosin said the advantage of this program is that is reaches the lower 28 density population, but it does put more cars on the road. He said there is much to learn from 29 other programs that have already provided this service. He encouraged staff to gather feedback 30 from the ridership. He asked if there is a timeline for the pilot. 31 Theo Letman said 6 months. 32 Commissioner Dorosin said the three-month mark may be a good time to gather some 33 data, to then compare with the 6 month data. 34 Theo Letman said the consultant for the project is going to look an electric van to see if it 35 would be appropriate for the program. 36 Chair Price asked if a needs assessment was done when planning the project. She 37 expressed concern that people on a limited income could not afford a $30 ride to 15-501. 38 Theo Letman said he reviewed the existing programs in the area and the data that was 39 collected on the programs. He said the MOD program is focused on an area without a fixed 40 route transportation system, so it has greater potential for success. 41 Chair Price said she sees the program growing, as many people expressed a need for 42 door-to-door service. She said she would like to see the use of more electric cars. 43 Chair Price asked if there are options for those on limited budgets. 44 Theo Letman said this is a pilot, and if the fares are found to be cost prohibitive then 45 they can be adjusted accordingly. 46 Chair Price asked if the circulator will ever go in the other direction. 47 Theo Letman said yes, this is in the planning stages, but was held up due to COVID-19. 48 Commissioner McKee asked if the grant from Ford Motor Company was used for 49 operations, the purchase of vehicles, or both. 50 Theo Letman said operations, including the overhead administrative costs. 51 Commissioner McKee asked if the grant has a time limit.