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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 02-18-2010 - Attachment 2Attachment 2 Proposed OPT Hillsborough in Town Route Business Plan February 8, 2010 Prepared by JerryPassmore, Director, Dept. on Aging Al Terry, Orange Public Transportation Manager Description: Orange Public Transportation (OPT), a division of the Dept. on Aging, operates public routes including para-transit in Orange County outside the Chapel Hill- Carrboro Transit area since 1980. OPT partners with Chapel Hill Transit (CHT) and Triangle Transit (TT) on intercity routes coming in and going from its service area. The Town of Hillsborough is part of OPT's service area. Orange Public Transportation Mission Statement: Orange County Public Transportation is a transit organization committed to promoting a healthful quality of life for all residents of Orange County. OPT strives to provide a comprehensive continuum of locally accessible, community based transportation services. As a primary transportation resource for the county, we have a responsibility to serve residents with transportation needs. OPT is dedicated to continuously improving the quality and economic value of transit services, locally and regionally. Market Analysis: The Town of Hillsborough has the largest concentration of Orange County residents outside Chapel Hill-Carrboro area. It has become a growing community with several identified areas of low income and older citizens that need improved access to jobs, health and social services, and to local businesses distributed in Hillsborough and outside the area. Other Hillsborough citizens are now considering public commuter services to the regional job market in light of the increase cost of vehicle operation and difficulty finding and increase cost of job site parking. The Orange County Transportation Human Services Advisory Board have studied for several months the need to improve public access by establishing an OPT in-town route that also serves as a feeder service to the TT Public 420 route that connects Hillsborough to Chapel Hill. The Town of Hillsborough will assist Orange County in an outreach process to solicit feedback on the proposed route and help advertise the service through it's website, press releases, cable access channel, neighborhood watch organizations, and an on-line survey, if deemed helpful. Route Design: The proposed Hillsborough In-town route (attached) provides stops in low income areas that are not already serviced by Orange Public Transportation, park/ride lot, human service agency locations, and other county facilities. Stops are less than a %4 mile from each other on the route in order to provide easy access. The route is designed to connect with the existing public route 420 (Hillsborough to Chapel Hill) at the park/ride lot at the 2 Durham Technical Satellite campus. Operational hours will be for at least eight hours per day Monday through Friday, but will not be continuous eight hour block. This route may need to be expanded to 10 or 12 hours depending on need. To ensure commuters have an opportunity to access work the route hours will need to be during peak hours (early morning and late afternoon). The Transportation Services Board, Orange County Planning Department, and Town of Hillsborough had input in the design of the route. Support letters from Orange County Department of Social Services, Orange County Health Department, Orange County Department on Aging, and Orange County Economic Development are attached. Financial Impact: The 2010 estimated total annual cost for operating the route by OPT is $114,320 for at least an eight hour day (first year total cost of operation is $457.28/per day). Possible Saturday service planning depending upon residents needs. Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) funds have been awarded to fund a portion of the route. CMAQ funds will support the route by up to $130,680 each year for a total of three years. The Town of Hillsborough proposes to provide $10,000 in year 2011 to support the route. User fees would generate an estimated $10,000 the first year based on anticipated 14,500 trips. The anticipated trip information was gathered from input from Human Service agencies such as OC Health Department and OC Department of Social Services. At the end of the three year period, Orange Public Transportation would continue to seek funding other than County funds to support the route. If funding sources are not available at that time, Orange County may wish to support the route through general funds based on the route's success. The proposed route fare structure would be $1.00 per trip for general riders, no charge for senior citizens (65+) and $ .50 per trip for disabled citizens. The projected revenue goal is 25% of route operations covered by fares by the end of third year. This figure is considered by national transit standards a successful route support by users. Attached is a three year operational budget projection beginning FY2010-11 through FY2013. Marketing: Initially, public forums should be scheduled at the County Commissioners meeting as well as Hillsborough Town Board meeting. This would provide input on the design and hours of operation. The Town of Hillsborough has expressed interest in supporting the marketing efforts possibly through its town water bill mailings. A canvas of local businesses would indicate support from local businesses owners/operators and provide input from the business community. News articles should be place in the local newspaper, a route brochure will be developed and distributed to key local businesses, county human service departments, articles in Senior Times. The In-Town route would be added to the OPT website with a link to the Town of Hillsborough. 3 Evaluation: The Hillsborough In-Town route efficient and effectiveness would be measured by quarterly OPT Vital Signs report that includes total passenger trips, total service hours, fare revenue, passenger trips per hour, passenger trips per mile, cost per passenger trip, cost per passenger mile, and cost per hour. While the OPT statistical reports will give vital information for improvements, OPT will conduct initially quarterly on-board rider surveys for feedback on route modification. 4 Update on Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Grant Agreement • Operating Assistance for Proposed Intra-Hillsborough Public Transit Route • Capital Expenses for DTCC Orange Campus Park and Ride Lot BACKGROUND In May 2009, the Orange Bounty Board of Commissioners (BOCC) approved a resolution endorsing a Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) grant agreement with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT). The agreement includes three years operating assistance for a new Orange Public Transportation (OPT) intra-Hillsborough transit route that provides a connection to the park/ride lot at the Durham Technical Community College (DTCC) Orange Campus to the Justice Complex in downtown Hillsborough. The agreement allows the County to be reimbursed up to $130,680 per year at 80% share to operate the new proposed public route, beginning July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2013. (See Chart) Orange County applied for the CMAQ grant in 2004 and the Town of Hillsborough provided a resolution supporting the County's application. Since then, Triangle Transit (TT) has taken over the successful OPT general public route between Hillsborough and Chapel Hill, TT Route 420. The 420 route is configured for express commuter service with stops at the DTCC park/ride lot and the Justice complex in downtown Hillsborough. To enable acceptable running time for the commuter route between the two towns, some low-income areas previously served by the old OPT route are no longer served. Staff from OPT, Orange County Planning and the Town of Hillsborough have worked together to develop a new public route that would provide service primarily within the Town of Hillsborough and connect with the 420 public route at the DTCC park/ride lot. OPT has developed a business plan (attached showing the route design, projected rider-ship, marketing, operating specifics and financial resources needed to operate the service for the first three years. After the first three years of CMAQ funding, the County would need to make application for continued funding for transit operations under alternative Federal/State grant programs; i.e., JARC The proposed Intra-Hillsborough route will require a revision to the County's CMAQ grant showing the air quality benefits of the newly proposed transit route. The CMAQ contract agreement provides reimbursement of operating assistance with a requirement the transit route remove an average 125 vehicles per day from downtown Hillsborough. Emissions reductions would be calculated using the projected route rider-ship. The existing CMAQ contract agreement would need to be amended to provide up to maximum 80% ($130,680/yr) of the operating expenses for the first three years. The following chart illustrates the matching obligations (Local Share) and expenses eligible for reimbursement for CMAQ funds (Federal share) for the first three years of projected operating expenses under: 1. The existing contract agreement, 5 2. A revised application for the proposed transit route using the allocated CMAQ funds for reimbursement of 80% of operating expenses. Total Route Expense includes both direct and indirect costs to request reimbursement. 6 CMAQ Eligible Expenses and Local Match Commitment -Transit Service Operations Existing CMAQ Revised Application for Newly Proposed Transit Agreement (Total Service Operations operating expenses (Assumes 5% yearly increase in operating expenses) of $198,000 per year) CMAQ (80% Share) can fund up to $130,680 each year Federal Local Match Federal Share (80%) Local Match Total Route Share Commitment Commitment Expense 66% 34% 20% 100% YEAR 1 July 1, $130,680 $67,320 $91,456 $22,864 $114,320 2010 - June 30, 2011 YEAR 2 July 1, $130,680 $67,320 $96,028 $24,008 $120,036 2011 - June 30, 2012 YEAR 3 July 1, $130,680 $67,320 $100,829 $25,208 $126,037 2012 - June 30, 2013 YEAR 4 and $0 $198,000 Would Require Would Require $132,338 Beyond Sustained Sustained Federal/State/Coca Federal/State/Local I Partici ation Partici ation The existing contract with NCDOT also provides for up to $16,220 or 80% reimbursement for--------- capital expenses that include a transit shelter at the Durham Technical Community College Orange Campus park and ride lot and four (4) bike racks and installation on OPT buses. The local match (20%) for the capital expenses is estimated to be $4,055. The match funds have not been appropriated. If the BOCC concurs with the grant update and route design, County staff would need to bring forward a budget amendment transferring a total of $4,055 from the general fund. SHARED INTERESTS Hillsborough and Orange County have shared interests in reducing and managing traffic congestion in downtown Hillsborough and air emissions in the County. The Town is interested in ensuring the downtown area remains vibrant and economically viable for the variety of small businesses that locate there. The County is interested, as a resident of downtown, where it houses necessary government services and ensures its customers have a variety of safe and affordable transportation options for accessing those services. The addition of an in-town route, in conjunction with the existing 420 route, is also expected to help relieve peak parking and vehicular travel demands that come with expanded court facilities. Orange County and Hillsborough have the unique ability and opportunity to benefit its citizenry, local and at-large, by combining their transportation and planning staff expertise with an approved financial partnership to implement an in-town route. 7 REQUESTED OUTCOMES FOR JOINT MEETING DISCUSSION There is a one-year time frame, from the date of the signed CMAQ agreement, to obtain construction authorization for the transit shelter and the County has athree-year window to obligate each year of the CMAQ allocation for transit operations. The Town and County are strongly encouraged to move forward in approving an in-town route design and jurisdictional commitments for the local match (operations and capital) if they wish to take advantage of available CMAQ funds. The County and Town Boards are requested to discuss and provide direction to staff on the following action steps. 1) Approve the proposed Intra-Hillsborough Public Transit Route and associated Business Plan (County and Town) 2) Authorize staff to submit the CMAQ grant application revision as required for the proposed Intra-Hillsborough Public Route (County) 3) Agree to provide the required local match (20 percent) for the proposed Intra- Hillsborough Public Transit Route under CMAQ provisions (20 percent; FY2011- 2013) (Town) 4) Authorize staff to work on an inter-local agreement to further define the service system and match commitment (County and Town) 5) Authorize staff to develop a budget amendment in FY2009-10 to allocate the local match commitment in the amount of $4,055 for CMAQ capital expenses (transit shelter and bicycle racks) (County) 8 ORANGE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION Three Year Operational Budget Projection Service Characteristics Daily hours of operation 8 Daily miles 160 Driver hourly labor and benefits (hourly) $28.13 Maintenance and consumable cost/mile $ .60 Administrative support costlhour $ 5.38 County indirect cost/hour (22%) $ 9.19 Number of vehicles 1 Operational Cost Calculation for an eight hour da, route Labor cost 8 hours x $28.13 + 8 hours x $5.38 $268.08 (does not include indirect cost) Maintenance and Consumable cost 8 hours x $12.00 $96.00 TOTAL DAILY COST $364.08/ 8 hour day (Additional Hourly Cost = $45.51) TOTAL YEARLY COST-FY10-11 $91,020/ 8 hour day Three year estimated hourly cost based on FY 2010/2011 Estimated Projected FY 2010-2011: Yeazly Costs Fare Revenues $91,020 $10,000 (14,500 trips) FY 2011-2012: $95,571 $11,300 (15,650 trips) FY 2012-2013: $100,350 $12,700 (16,200 trips) Balance To Be Funded $81,020 $84,271 $87,650 Proposed Fare Structure: General Public - $1.00 per trip Disabled - $ .50 per trip Elderly (65+) -Free 9 ORANGE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION 600 Highway 86 North Hillsborough, N.C. 27278 919-245-2008 February 8, 2010 Hillsborou~b In-Town Route As designed, the route consists of 13 fixed bus stops and 2 call stops. The route takes 60 minutes to complete a cycle and is twenty miles long. Stops are as follows: 1. Rainey Street (Police Annex) 2. Hester/Whitted/Day 3. Whiffed Forest 4. West Hill Ave. (Rosewood) call stop 5. King Street/West Hill Ave. 6. King StreetlHassel Street call stop 7. Margaret Lane (Library) 8. Old Wa1Mart 9. Timbers Trailer Park 10. Gateway Appartments 11. DTCC 12. Hampton Pointe 13. Meadowland 14. Court House 15. Maxway To operate this route Monday through Friday for an eight hour period, would allow 8 round trips per day. The daily cost of operations is $364.08 or $91,020 per year. Costs may be reduced/increased at $45.51 per hour. (No indirect costs are included in these cost projections) • Attached is the route (the route begins at County Motor Pool travels west onto Hwy 70, then south onto West Hill Avenue, etc. 10 Proposed OPT lwtra- H- 'ULsborou.gk Route TOWN OF H-Il_LSgOT20(tCjH-