Northeastern Wake County – NC Rural Microtransit Service Plan Final Plan – March 2021 Photo by Google Maps KFH Group, Inc. Bethesda, MD | Austin, TX | Seattle, WA Table of Contents Table of Contents Executive Summary Introduction.......................................................................................................................................... ES-1 What is Rural Microtransit? ............................................................................................................ ES-1 Northeastern Wake County Rural Microtransit Service ....................................................... ES-2 Study Tasks .............................................................................................................................. ES-4 Implementation Steps .......................................................................................................... ES-4 Key Takeaways & Recommendations ........................................................................................ ES-5 Chapter 1: Background Introduction................................................................................................................................................. 1 Northeast Wake County ............................................................................................................. 2 Connecting to Transit .................................................................................................................. 3 The Emergence of Microtransit ................................................................................................ 4 Service Concepts ........................................................................................................................... 5 Implementation Steps ............................................................................................................................. 6 Chapter 2: Communications Plan Background ................................................................................................................................................. 7 Stakeholder Interviews ............................................................................................................................ 8 Focus Groups & Informational Presentations ............................................................................. 15 Focus Groups ................................................................................................................................ 15 Informational Presentations ................................................................................................... 19 Community Survey ................................................................................................................................ 20 Survey Introduction ................................................................................................................... 20 Marketing New Microtransit Service .............................................................................................. 30 Chapter 3: Service Plan Background .............................................................................................................................................. 32 Lessons Learned ..................................................................................................................................... 32 Maintaining Service Reliability .......................................................................................................... 33 Implementation Steps .......................................................................................................................... 33 Determine the Service Delivery Model ............................................................................... 34 Geo-Fenced Zone Characteristics ......................................................................................... 35 Operations Plan ......................................................................................................................... 47 i │ Northeastern Wake County – Rural Microtransit Service Plan Table of Contents Fare Structure .............................................................................................................................. 49 Ensure Compliance with Federal Civil Rights ................................................................... 50 Chapter 4: Capital & Technology Plan Service Implications ............................................................................................................................... 51 Capital Needs .......................................................................................................................................... 51 Vehicles .......................................................................................................................................... 52 Fare Collection ............................................................................................................................ 53 Overview of Technology ...................................................................................................................... 53 Mobile Application .................................................................................................................... 53 Uber ꟾ Routematch Support .................................................................................................... 54 Customer Experience ................................................................................................................ 55 Onboard Mobile Tablet ............................................................................................................ 57 Reporting Requirements .......................................................................................................... 58 Chapter 5: Five-Year Financial Plan Background .............................................................................................................................................. 59 Integrated Mobility Innovation (IMI) Grant .................................................................................. 60 Potential Future Funding Sources .................................................................................................... 61 Traditional Government Funding Sources ......................................................................... 61 Non-Traditional Funding Strategies .................................................................................... 63 Farebox Recovery ................................................................................................................................... 64 Projected Capital Costs ........................................................................................................................ 64 Projected Operating Costs ................................................................................................................. 64 Chapter 6: Evaluation Plan Background .............................................................................................................................................. 67 Performance Assessment Context ................................................................................................... 67 Traditional Performance Measures ...................................................................................... 68 Emerging Performance Measures for Microtransit ......................................................... 69 Potential Performance Measures ..................................................................................................... 70 Productivity .................................................................................................................................. 70 Cost Effectiveness ....................................................................................................................... 71 Shared Ride .................................................................................................................................. 72 Connecting to Transit ............................................................................................................... 72 Customer Satisfaction ............................................................................................................... 73 Performance Evaluation ....................................................................................................................... 74 Data Collection ........................................................................................................................... 74 Establishing Performance Goals ............................................................................................ 74 KFH Group, Inc. │ ii Table of Contents Chapter 7: Procurement and RFP Considerations Background .............................................................................................................................................. 75 Technology Platform ............................................................................................................................. 75 Build Upon Current Routematch Software ........................................................................ 75 Service Provider ...................................................................................................................................... 76 Contracting Services out to an Established Transit Company .................................... 76 Future Considerations