Orange County Public Transportation Short Range Transit Plan

Final Report [DRAFT] October 2018

OPT Short Range Transit Plan

Table of Contents Page EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... ES-1 1 INTRODUCTION ...... 1-1 2 EXISTING CONDITIONS AND MARKET ANALYSIS ...... 2-1 Key Findings ...... 2-1 Transit in Orange County ...... 2-2 Document Review ...... 2-2 Market Analysis ...... 2-3 Route Profiles ...... 2-6 3 PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT ...... 3-1 Phase I Outreach...... 3-1 Phase II Outreach...... 3-10 4 RURAL TRANSIT SERVICE TYPES ...... 4-1 5 SERVICE PRIORITIZATION ...... 5-1 Prioritization Process ...... 5-1 Implementation ...... 5-14 Appendix A: Open-Ended Comments Appendix B: Change Sheets

Table of Figures Page Figure 2-1 Population and Employment Density in Orange and Durham Counties ...... 2-3 Figure 2-2 Commute Travel Demand for Workers Living in Orange County that work in Orange or Durham Counties ...... 2-5 Figure 2-3 Existing OPT Service Network ...... 2-6 Figure 2-4 Route Map, Hillsborough Circulator ...... 2-7 Figure 2-5 Hillsborough Circulator Average Daily Boardings ...... 2-8 Figure 2-6 Hillsborough Circulator Boardings by Trip ...... 2-9 Figure 2-7 Route Map, Orange-Chapel Hill Midday Connector ...... 2-10 Figure 2-8 Orange-Chapel Hill Midday Connector Boardings by Trip ...... 2-11 Figure 2-9 Route Map, Orange-Alamance Connector ...... 2-12 Figure 3-1 Phase I Public Meetings ...... 3-1 Figure 3-2 Reasons to Use Transportation other than Transit (OPT) ...... 3-3 Figure 3-3 Reasons to Take Transit (OPT) ...... 3-3 Figure 3-4 What improvements would cause you to use transit more often? ...... 3-4 Figure 3-5 What improvements would cause you to use transit more often? – Transit Users vs. Non-Transit Users ...... 3-5 Figure 3-6 What improvements would cause you to use transit more often? – Age Group Analysis ...... 3-6 Figure 3-7 Age of Survey Respondents ...... 3-7 Figure 3-8 Primary Mode of Transportation ...... 3-8 Figure 3-9 Ridership Frequency ...... 3-8

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Figure 3-10 Length of Ridership ...... 3-9 Figure 3-11 Phase II Public Meetings ...... 3-10 Figure 3-12 Pick the top five improvements you’d like us to focus on ...... 3-11 Figure 4-1 Rural Transit Service Types ...... 4-1 Figure 4-2 Fixed-Route Transit Vehicles in Orange County ...... 4-2 Figure 4-3 Smaller Demand Response Vehicle Used for Senior Transportation ...... 4-2 Figure 4-4 Example of a Flex Service Alignment ...... 4-3 Figure 4-5 Zone Service Example from Mason County, WA ...... 4-3 Figure 4-6 Existing GoTriangle Vanpool Vehicle ...... 4-4 Figure 4-7 Volunteer Driver Programs May Provide a Variety of Services ...... 4-5 Figure 4-8 Ride Share Partnerships Could Fill Service Gaps in Low-Density Areas of Orange County ...... 4-6 Figure 5-1 OPT Service Prioritization Summary ...... 5-2 Figure 5-2 Proposed OPT System Map ...... 5-3 Figure 5-3 Demand Response Zones ...... 5-5 Figure 5-4 Hillsborough Circulator ...... 5-6 Figure 5-5 Orange-Alamance Connector ...... 5-7 Figure 5-6 Additional Hillsborough Circulator Route ...... 5-8 Figure 5-7 Orange-Chapel Hill Connector ...... 5-9 Figure 5-8 Hillsborough-Durham Connector ...... 5-10 Figure 5-9 Cedar Grove Peak Connector ...... 5-11 Figure 5-10 White Cross Commuter Service ...... 5-12 Figure 5-11 Additional Transit Amenities ...... 5-13 Figure 5-12 Improvement Prioritization and Annual Operating Cost within Existing Budget .... 5-14 Figure 5-13 Improvement Prioritization and Annual Operating Cost Requiring Additional Funding...... 5-15

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

OPT Short Range Transit Plan

Figure ES-1 Existing OPT Service Network

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Service Prioritization Typically, fixed-route transit service is best suited for areas with sufficiently high population and employment density to provide adequate ridership to sustain the service. In rural or suburban areas, like much of Orange County, frequent fixed-route service may not be the most effective method of service delivery. Instead, multiple service types may be appropriate depending on the density of population and jobs, the distribution of community services, and potential connections to surrounding areas and transit services. As such, recommended improvements for OPT represent a combination of service types. Recommendations were prioritized to provide access to jobs from rural areas, respond to public feedback by expanding service hours and improving frequency on existing routes, and improving connections between Mebane, Efland, and Hillsborough. A summary of these improvements is provided in Figure ES-2, and the proposed system map is shown in Figure ES-3. The prioritized recommendations are intended to provide the maximum benefit within current funding levels and provide a path for future investment should additional funding become available.

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Figure ES-2 OPT Service Prioritization Summary

Improvement Description Funded 1 Regional Vanpool Expand GoTriangle vanpool program to other areas of Orange County, Yes Program provide marketing and subsidies 2 Community Van Lease vans to non-profits and government agencies to provide access to Yes Program social services in the community 3 Zone Services Three demand response zones operating two days per week for five hours Yes 4 Hillsborough Continue to provide service that operates hourly on weekdays from 8:00 AM Yes Circulator to 5:00 PM 5 Orange-Alamance Alter alignment to provide bi-directional service on US 70 between Yes Connector Hillsborough, Efland, and Mebane 6 Orange-Chapel Hill Continue to provide service that operates hourly on weekdays from 9:45 AM Yes Midday Connector to 3:50 PM 7 Vanpool Subsidy Provide additional vanpool subsidy for Orange County residents No Program 8 Expand Expand service span and frequency on existing route to operate Monday to No Hillsborough Saturday from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM Circulator Service 9 Additional Alternative alignment for the Hillsborough Circulator with two partially No Hillsborough overlapping loops Circulator Route 10 Improve Zone Improve service on the three demand response zones to operate on all No Services weekdays from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM 11 Hillsborough- New fixed-route service between Hillsborough and Durham with connections No Durham Connector to the Duke VA Hospital operating hourly on weekdays between 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM 12 Cedar Grove Peak New peak only fixed-route service between Hillsborough and Cedar Grove No Connector on weekdays between 6:00 AM and 9:00 AM and 3:30 PM and 7:00 PM 13 White Cross New peak only fixed-route service between Chapel Hill and White Cross No Commuter Service operating on weekdays between 6:30 AM and 9:30 AM and between 3:30 PM and 6:30 PM 14 Transit Amenities New transit amenities in Hillsborough including a new transfer center and a No new park-and-ride facility

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Figure ES-3 Proposed OPT System Map

Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, Inc. | ES-5 1 INTRODUCTION Orange County Public Transportation (OPT) provides transit service throughout Orange County, including both demand response and fixed-route service. Identifying performance of the existing system, areas of unmet transit demand, assessing priorities of passengers, and prioritizing service improvements with a limited budget are keys to addressing the needs of the community. To ensure integrated, high performing transit service across the region, this report assesses the market for transit service, operations in Orange County, and future recommendations. Report Organization In addition to this Introduction, the report is organized into four chapters—existing conditions and market analysis, public involvement, rural transit service types, and service prioritization. . Chapter 02 Existing Conditions and Market Analysis. This chapter highlights previous planning studies, provides an assessment of population and employment density and travel demand within the Orange County and Durham County areas to assess the distribution of the transit ridership market, and analyzes the performance of existing fixed-route service operated by OPT to identify strengths and weaknesses of the current system. . Chapter 03 Public Involvement. This chapter summarizes the public involvement and outreach efforts conducted for Phase I and Phase II outreach, as well as specific comments and feedback received. . Chapter 04 Rural Transit Service Types. Given the rural nature of the OPT service area, the agency faces different challenges than urban transit providers. This chapter highlights some potential rural transit service types that may function as part of a coordinated approach to transit service in the area. . Chapter 05 Service Prioritization. This chapter builds on the market analysis, service analysis, and rural transit service types chapters to identify potential service improvements. These service enhancements are prioritized to provide the maximum benefit to passengers and address the unique needs of Orange County given limited financial resources. Appendix A provides open-ended comments received during the public outreach process. Appendix B provides change sheets that summarize alignment modifications for existing OPT routes with proposed changes—the Hillsborough Circulator and Orange-Alamance Connector.

2 EXISTING CONDITIONS AND MARKET ANALYSIS This chapter is intended to summarize the background conditions in which OPT operates and provide an evaluation of existing service characteristics and system performance. This chapter provides an overview of the operating context for OPT, demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, and general system performance. OPT is a transit organization which operates three midday/off peak, weekday, fixed-route bus services in Orange County—the Hillsborough Circulator, the Orange-Chapel Hill Midday Connector, and the Orange-Alamance Connector. In addition to these fixed-route services, OPT also offers on-demand and paratransit services. OPT offers on-demand transportation for seniors (60+) or disabled residents from their residence to their medical care providers or to go shopping; however, shopping trips are limited to one trip per week, while there is no limit to medical trips. This service requires 48 hours’ notice prior to scheduled pick up. This service is also offered to the general public on a seat-available basis. OPT also offers complementary paratransit service for eligible individuals who can demonstrate that they are unable to travel to or from an existing bus stop. This service is provided from any origin and to any destination within ¾-mile of existing fixed-route service. KEY FINDINGS . The Hillsborough Circulator and the Orange-Chapel Hill Midday Connector have low ridership, approximately 64 and 15 average daily riders respectively. . Population density in Orange County outside of Chapel Hill and Carrboro is relatively low. The majority of the county does not have the population or employment density to support fixed-route transit. . The most common commute destinations for north Orange County residents are to Hillsborough, Durham, and Chapel Hill.

OPT Short Range Transit Plan

TRANSIT IN ORANGE COUNTY Orange County is primarily characterized by rural development, with the majority of the county outside of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area developed at fewer than three jobs per acre and fewer than seven people acre. This low density development presents challenges for sustaining ridership for traditional fixed-route transit services and is best suited for demand-response type of services. One method utilized in Orange County to “create density” is the provision of park-and-ride facilities. Outside of Chapel Hill-Carrboro, there are two park-and-ride lots, including in Mebane and at the Durham Tech Orange County. These facilities support regional transit service to Durham County and to Chapel Hill. On-Demand dial-a-ride transit, like OPT’s Elderly/Disabled Medical Transportation and Senior Center Transportation services, provides lifeline services for those unable to drive in Orange County. DOCUMENT REVIEW 2015 Orange County Public Transportation Assessment Study The 2015 Orange County Public Transportation Assessment Study is a comprehensive review of the current conditions, costs, funding, existing and planned services, and organizational structure for OPT. The assessment found that OPT has significantly improved its administration and management over the past several years due to restructuring and emphasizing planning, data reporting, and ensuring compliance with federal regulations. The emphasis on data reporting and record keeping resulted in more accurate ridership and operating cost estimates. The assessment proposes additional service expansion to provide more hours and days of service in rural areas and to provide more specialized demand response service to address the needs of the aging baby-boomer population. Additional planned services include: . Rural Zone Route-Deviation Services . Later Senior Center Service . Efland-Hillsborough Commuter Loop Service . Route 420 Expansion The assessment also recommends further reorganization to move OPT operations out of the Planning and Inspections Department and into its own Transit Department. This proposed reorganization would also require a dedicated staff member to provide ongoing transit planning support either through a new hire or reclassifying an existing comprehensive planner.

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MARKET ANALYSIS Population and Employment Density Population and employment densities are key drivers of transit demand. In general, a population density of seven people per acre is needed to support fixed-route transit. In Orange County, Chapel Hill, particularly around UNC, and downtown Carrboro have the greatest densities of population and employment in the county (Figure 2-1). There is very low population and employment densities in Orange County outside of downtown Chapel Hill and Carrboro. The low densities suggest that two different service delivery types may be successful—park-and- ride based commuter services and lifeline demand response type services. OPT operates both right now.

Figure 2-1 Population and Employment Density in Orange and Durham Counties

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Travel Demand Figure 2-2 shows the trip lines for the largest commute patterns for Orange County residents that commute to either Orange or Durham Counties. The strongest commute patterns from the north and west portions of Orange County are to the Duke University, Duke Hospital, and the Durham VA Medical Center area. More than 500 individuals make this trip daily. Given the cost of parking near Duke University, the level of demand is sufficient to support park-and-ride based commuter type service in the I-85 corridor. South Orange County residents are more likely to commute into Chapel Hill. While many people commute into Chapel Hill from north and west of Carrboro, the most common commute trips originate from neighborhoods on both sides of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Chapel Hill. The demand pattern suggests that commuter type service from Hillsborough and the NC 54 corridor may be viable. Currently, the NC 54 corridor is not served by park-and-ride based service. Given some of the additional demand to UNC-Chapel Hill coming from Alamance County, some additional consideration to a park-and-ride in this location should be considered.

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Figure 2-2 Commute Travel Demand for Workers Living in Orange County that work in Orange or Durham Counties

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OPT Short Range Transit Plan

ROUTE PROFILES OPT currently operates three fixed routes, as shown in Figure 2-3. This section discusses alignment characteristics, service span, headway, destinations served, and ridership for these routes.

Figure 2-3 Existing OPT Service Network

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OPT Short Range Transit Plan

Hillsborough Circulator The Hillsborough Circulator service connects origins and destinations throughout the Town of Hillsborough with hourly headways between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday. This route provides connections to the Weaver Street Market, the Hillsborough Historic Courthouse, Hillsborough Commons, and Durham Technical Community College (Figure 2-4). Ridership for the route is low with approximately 64 daily riders on average. Stops serving Walmart and the Gateway Apartments have the highest boardings of the route (Figure 2-5). The 11:00 AM trip has the highest average ridership of all trips, shown in Figure 2-6, at approximately 11 riders.

Figure 2-4 Route Map, Hillsborough Circulator

Source: OPT

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OPT Short Range Transit Plan

Figure 2-5 Hillsborough Circulator Average Daily Boardings

Source: OPT

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Figure 2-6 Hillsborough Circulator Boardings by Trip

12

10

8

6 Passengers

4

2

0 8:00 AM 9:00 AM 10:00 AM 11:00 AM 12:00 PM 1:00 PM 2:00 PM 3:00 PM 4:00 PM Trip Time

Source: OPT Manual Passenger Counts August, 2017.

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OPT Short Range Transit Plan

Orange-Chapel Hill Midday Connector The Orange-Chapel Hill Midday Connector service connects Hillsborough, Chapel Hill, and Cedar Grove in northern Orange County with hourly service provided in both the northbound and southbound direction (Figure 2-7). This route is a midday complement to the GoTriangle/Chapel Hill Transit Route 420 service, which operates from 6:00 AM to 9:15 AM and from 3:40 PM to 6:50 PM, Monday through Friday. The Orange-Chapel Hill Midday Connector has very low ridership, averaging eight total daily riders. The highest ridership is the 1:45 PM trip in the outbound direction, averaging approximately three riders per trip, shown in Figure 2-8.

Figure 2-7 Route Map, Orange-Chapel Hill Midday Connector

Source: OPT

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OPT Short Range Transit Plan

Figure 2-8 Orange-Chapel Hill Midday Connector Boardings by Trip

Source: OPT Manual Passenger Counts August, 2017.

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OPT Short Range Transit Plan

Orange-Alamance Connector The Orange-Alamance Connector service connects major origins and destinations in Hillsborough, Efland, and Mebane with hourly service provided in both the eastbound and westbound directions, operating between 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM Monday through Friday (Figure 2-9). This route is relatively new to the OPT system, and ridership data was not available for analysis and inclusion in this report.

Figure 2-9 Route Map, Orange-Alamance Connector

Source: OPT

Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, Inc. | 2-12 3 PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT This chapter provides an overview of the key themes and takeaways from Phase I and Phase II outreach related to the OPT SRTP process. Phase I outreach was primarily targeted at gauging perceptions of the existing transit network and priorities for service improvements. This phase was used to develop potential service improvements, which were evaluated during Phase II outreach. Phase II outreach was targeted at addressing how the public perceived proposed changes to the transit system to develop a prioritized list of proposed future service improvements. Open-ended comments for both Phase I and Phase II outreach are contained in Appendix A. PHASE I OUTREACH In addition to three public meetings conducted in November 2017 in Efland, Hillsborough, and Cedar Grove (Figure 3-1), Phase I outreach consisted of the GoTriangle-OPT Transit System Survey, a joint survey used to discern priorities and preferences for transit riders using both GoTriangle and OPT services. Where practical, survey respondents were separated into GoTriangle riders and OPT riders. The online survey was open for public comment from late September through the end of November 2017. Nearly 550 individual responses were gathered, 42 of whom identified as OPT users. Figure 3-1 Phase I Public Meetings

Date Place Address 11/13/2017 Efland-Cheeks Community Center 117 Richmond Rd, Efland 11/14/2017 Orange County West Campus 131 Margaret Ln, Hillsborough 11/21/2017 Cedar Grove Community Center 5800 NC-86N, Hillsborough

Key Findings . The highest priorities for OPT riders were improving weekday and Saturday service frequency and providing later evening service. . Additional priorities include more park-and-ride availability and more frequent service at night and/or Sundays. . The primary reasons OPT users ride the bus is because parking is too expensive/unavailable and to save money. . Schedules not matching riders’ needs and the service taking too long are the main reasons OPT riders don’t use transit.

OPT Short Range Transit Plan

. More weekday or Saturday frequency is a high priority for both transit users and non- transit users. Non-transit users’ priorities are focused on service alignments moving closer to their homes and jobs, while transit users focus on improving service and extending service later in the evening. Survey Results

GoTriangle Users and OPT Users Survey responses were analyzed separately for respondents who identified as “OPT Users” and “GoTriangle Users” to identify unique priorities and preferences between the two services. GoTriangle Users and OPT Users are defined as anyone who indicated that they use the service on a regular basis, not anyone who exclusively uses the service (i.e., GoTriangle Users may also use Chapel Hill Transit, and OPT Users may also use GoTriangle). This distinction was made to avoid a small sample size for exclusive OPT Users (N = 4). Overall Results

Why or Why Not Use Transit? When asked why respondents choose to use means of transportation other than transit (Figure 3-2), the most common response was that the schedules don’t match their needs (62%), the service takes too long (62%) and the service is inconvenient (38%). This indicates that convenience and timeliness are important factors when deciding to take transit or not. The majority of respondents indicated that they take transit for financial reasons (Figure 3-3), including parking is too expensive/unavailable (65%) and they save money riding the bus (61%). Forty eight percent of respondents indicated they take transit to avoid traffic congestion, and 45% take transit because it is a better use of time. This suggests that the two primary reasons respondents take transit is for financial savings and more productive use of their commute.

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OPT Short Range Transit Plan

Figure 3-2 Reasons to Use Transportation other than Transit (OPT)

The schedules don't match my needs 62%

Takes too long 62%

Transit does not go to where I need to go (or is 38% not convenient to use)

Other 23%

Don't know how to use the system 15%

Bus stop is not conveniently located 15%

I prefer to use my own vehicle 0%

N = 13 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Figure 3-3 Reasons to Take Transit (OPT)

Parking is too expensive/unavailable 65% I save money by riding the bus 61% Better for environment/air quality 55% Enjoy riding the bus 48% Avoid traffic congestion 48% Prefer not to drive 45% Better use of time 45% High gas prices 19% No driver's license/can't drive 13% Can't afford to purchase or maintain a car/auto 13% Other (please specify) 10% My car isn't working properly 0% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

N = 31

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OPT Short Range Transit Plan

Improvements to Transit Service The highest improvement priorities for OPT riders, as shown in Figure 3-4, were more frequent service during the day (45%) and later evening service (45%). OPT users also prioritized more park-and-ride availability, more frequent service at night and/or Sundays, and improved transfer connections.

Figure 3-4 What improvements would cause you to use transit more often?

Later evening service 45% More frequent service during the day Monday-Saturday 45% More park-and-ride availability 39% More frequent service at night and/or Sundays 35% Improved transfer connections 32% More direct service 23% More comfortable bus stops 19% Reduced travel times 19% Other (please specify) 13% Route closer to my home 13% Earlier morning service 6% Better service information 6% Route closer to my job 6% Route closer to my job/school 0% N = 31 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

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Transit Users vs. Non-Transit Users Survey responses were analyzed independently for transit users and non-transit users to determine priorities and preferences for each group. In order to avoid a small sample size, this assessment does not separate GoTriangle and OPT users; instead, this should be viewed as a trend for the overall region. Transit users’ selected improvements were generally more focused on improving service frequency and expanding service later in the evening, while non-transit users’ priorities were focused on convenience and relocating routes closer to their homes and jobs, as shown in Figure 3-5. Both groups of users have strong preferences for expanding service on weekdays and Saturdays. In a direct comparison between the differences of transit users and non-transit users’ selected improvements, 52% of transit users