Morrisville Transportation Plan - 2009

Appendices

A ppendix H. F ixed R oute T ransit C ase S tudy 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”)

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).

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-

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H Transit Case Study