Orange County NC Website
10 <br /> Triangle <br /> MEMO <br /> Date: August 29, 2025 <br /> From: Jay Heikes, GoTriangle <br /> Re: Q2 Amendment Request for FY26 Orange Transit Workprogram — Route 800 <br /> The Orange Transit Plan funds expansion service in Orange County on Route 800. Route 800 provides all- <br /> day/every-day regional connections along NC-54 and 1-40 between UNC Hospitals and Regional Transit Center <br /> and serves people traveling between Chapel Hill, Southpoint, RTP, and Raleigh at off-peak times. Substantial <br /> growth continues to occur along the corridor, driving demand for Orange County residents, employees, and <br /> visitors to travel along this corridor. This project includes all off-peak span and frequency improvements to <br /> GoTriangle Route 800 (Chapel Hill - Southpoint - RTC) since the Tax District began providing funding for it. On <br /> Route 800: <br /> - Weekday midday frequency was increased from 60 to 30 minutes. <br /> - Saturday daytime frequency was increased from 60 to 30 minutes. <br /> - Saturday evening service was extended from 7:15 PM to 11:20 PM. <br /> - Sunday service was added from 6:45 AM to 10 PM. <br /> Costs are allocated 50%to Durham County and 50% to Orange. <br /> This request is for additional resources maintain on-time performance on Route 800 while sill delivering <br /> frequency and span consistent with the Orange Transit Plan. This request is for five additional revenue hours <br /> on Route 800 to provide sufficient cycle time, inclusive of run-time, schedule recovery, and layover time to <br /> account for increasingly variable and congested travel times. Cycle times (round trip + layovers) are routinely <br /> exceeding 120 minutes, resulting in late trips. Adding a fifth vehicle to Route 800 will enable the route to stay <br /> within its cycle time and prevent cascading delays on weekday afternoons. It will ensure that riders are able to <br /> reliable make transfers from Route 800 to Chapel Hill Transit and OCPT Routes in Chapel Hill, GoDurham <br /> Routes in Durham along NC 54, and other GoTriangle Routes at Regional Transit Center. This request includes <br /> a partial year of incremental costs in FY26, starting in December, and a full year of future year costs for Route <br /> 800 improvements. <br /> 4600 Emperor Blvd., Suite 100, Durham, NC 27703 1 gotriangle.org <br />