Morrisville Transportation Plan

H-1

Appendices

Transit Case Study

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H. F

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This section describes a sample potential public transportation service in Morrisville if the

town decided to start its own system from scratch. It is the most complicated option of

the several examined. The service described will be provided six days per week including

holidays. Both daily, fixed-route and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) complementary

demand response service are provided. Funding sources, yearly capital and operating

budgets, and transit system operations and management are also discussed.

System Management and Operation.

Starting up a full service transit system from scratch

can be a daunting challenge. Securing an operations staff consisting of drivers, dispatch-

ers, supervisors, and maintenance staff, along with operations and administration of the

various capital and operating assistance funding streams, would require a significant level

of commitment and support from Town departments and the Town Town Council.

Many startup transit systems have chosen to hire outside contractors that specialize in

transit operations. Contracted transit operators provide drivers, dispatchers, and day-to-

day operations supervisors that run the system on behalf of the Town. This option would still

require a full-time transit director on the Town’s staff to provide contractor oversight and

administration of federal and state funding sources. The Town’s Transit Director would also

be responsible for coordinating with other local and regional transit agencies in the Tri-

angle, the Capital Area MPO, NCDOT, and USDOT. Cary and the C-Tran system are impor-

tant potential partners as well, not only in terms of coordination of services, but potentially

for shared garage space (the C-Tran garage is currently located in Morrisville) and even

a merged system. Transit fleet maintenance and fueling can generally be provided by

existing Town personnel and resources, but sharing the costs of garaging and maintaining

equipment and vehicles would reduce the costs associated with independent operations.

Support from other Town departments including Planning, Finance, Public Works, Police,

Information Technology, Administration, and the Budget Office would also be required in

order to ensure a successful transit system.

Funding for the transit system would come from several sources. Federal funding is avail-

able through formula grants from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) that require local

matching funds. These grants can provide funding assistance for capital, operational, and

planning expenses. The State of North Carolina also provides operating assistance funding

and a portion of the matching funds required for the federal grants. In addition to these

funding sources, the Town would be required to provide matching funds for the federal

grants, which are only partially offset by farebox and, possibly, advertising revenues. This

example illustrates a potential funding scenario for a transit system in Morrisville. Assump-

tions made for capital and operating expenses are for discussion purposes only. Further

refinement through the development of a Transit Master Plan would be needed prior to

committing to a particular approach.

Fixed-Route Service.

Primary transit service throughout Morrisville would consist of a fixed

route, day-time system that would operate on a 60-minute cycle during operating hours

(Figure H.1 illustrates a potential route). The operating parameters of the fixed route and

ADA demand response service are critical to determine the startup and ongoing costs. For

this example, the daytime service will operate between 6am and 6pm Monday through

Friday and from 10 am to 6 pm on Saturdays and holidays. Two, light-duty (“cutaway”)

transit vehicles and a third spare vehicle will provide the most cost-

effective option for serving the proposed route. The typical cutaway

vehicle is an ADA lift-equipped vehicle that has a seating capacity of

28 ambulatory with two wheelchair tie-down positions.

Complementary Paratransit Services.

Complementary paratransit

services, or demand response service, would be provided in accor-

dance with policies established by the Town through an ADA Com-

plementary Demand Response Service Plan. Eligible persons with dis-

abilities will be serviced who reside within three-quarters of a mile of

the fixed route service but are unable to utilize a fixed route transit

stop. Demand response service could be provided through the use

of a single, ADA-equipped van and have the same operating sched-

ule as the fixed route service.

Capital Expenditures.

Capital costs include several onetime and pe-

riodic replacement costs for major system investments. Examples of

capital expenses include transit buses, system wide passenger ame-

nities, and maintenance facilities. Figure H.2 provides a summary

of the initial capital expenditures required to start a transit system.

An initial capital budget of approximately $1,500,000 would include

three light duty transit vehicles, one ADA equipped van, transit stop

amenities, and administrative and maintenance facility improve-

ments. The majority of the capital items listed below are one time

expenditures. Vehicle costs are a recurring capital cost tied to the us-

able life cycle of a transit vehicle. Federal reimbursement grants can

be used to fund up to 83 percent of vehicle purchases and up to 80

percent of other capital expenses. North Carolina will provide an 8

percent match for vehicle purchases and up to 10 percent matching

funds on other capital expenditures. The resulting local match would

be nine percent for vehicle purchases and 10 percent for all other

capital expenses. Figure H.3 provides an example of expenditures

and revenues for five years of transit operations. A transit Capital Im-

provement Program should be developed in order to better identify

and plan for long-term system needs.

Operations Expenditures.

Operating costs include all items and ex-

penses necessary to provide for the day-to-day operation of the tran-

Definitions ofTransit Services

Fixed Route:

Transit service that follows a fixed

timetable and serves a routine set of stops.

Deviated Fixed Route:

Transit route follows a set

of scheduled stops, but also services additional

stops as they are called in to the dispatcher.

Limited Deviation Fixed Route:

Transit route that

follows a set of scheduled stops, but also services

a subarea or point on demand as determined by

calls into the dispatcher.

Paratransit/Demand Responsive Service:

Flexible,

demand-responsive passenger transportation that

does not follow fixed routes or schedules.Typi-

cally vans or mini-buses are used to provide para-

transit service, but also share taxis and jitneys are

important providers in some markets.The term

“paratransit services” often refers to the provision

of complementary service to fixed-route systems

for mobility-impaired passengers, per the Ameri-

cans with Disabilities Act (ADA).