I see that the BOCC has decided to rename OPT as The Orange Bus, with resultant web-site and advertising changes as well as painting all their vehicles OP-orange. As a side-note, perhaps OP should think about taking out some advertising on the buses. Commissioner Barry Jacobs was against the idea, according to OrangeChat, calling it "too precious" and saying that he thought OPT was just fine. C'mon Commissioner Jacobs, this is a web 2.0 world! I am totally in favor of OPT becoming The Orange Bus. First off, how many of you knew what OPT was the first time you heard the acronym? How many of you know what OPT actually does? But, The Orange Bus, that's easy to understand and by playing on the county name it becomes catchy.
This does raise a question in my mind though and that is, what changes will be made on the website to make it a better tool for potential customers. As it stands right now, I think most people have no idea what OPT does unless they are already using it. How will the website make this information more accessible? I had the opportunity just this morning to tell a coworker moving to Hillsborough about the Hill-to-Hill route - she had no idea that it existed and was very excited about the possibility of not driving every day. How will The Orange Bus get this information out to the public?
Of course there is an even more basic question. Why have two high-quality public transportation companies in Orange County? Why not merge The Orange Bus and Chapel Hill Transit into one high-quality, public, transportation company? There must be cost-savings and efficiencies that could be had with a single website using NextBus or alternative methods of tracking bus arrivals and departures, a single dispatcher for handling paratransit, and a single shop for repairing vehicles. Both groups would benefit from a merger, with The Orange Bus having a large number of small point-to-point types of vehicles that would increase the paratransit services in Orange County; and, CHT transit operating larger buses that could reach out into the populated sections of Orange County twice a day for commuters.
How can CHT, The Orange Bus, and TTA combine their services to better function in a world where connectivity is more important than ever? With workers inside the triangle and triad paying $5.00 a gallon for their commute, is this the best time ever to leverage for a high-quality, triangle-wide transit system?
Public transportation is at a crossroads, where high gas prices are driving people to public transit, but federal, state, and local governments are cutting funding because of budget problems.
"You've got a time in history where these agencies could be tapping a new market and attracting the suburban people who, heretofore, have been less likely to ride [public transit]," says Stephen Reich, director of the Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Florida in Tampa. "Some agencies are even contracting service because of fuel costs and decreasing government support."
Will Orange County do something really unique to lead on this issue? What would that be?
Question of the day: Do you use public transportation?
Task for the day: Ask one coworker that you know doesn't use public transportation why not and what could change to make them use public transportation.
Issues:
Comments
that is one confusing web site. Can anyone clearly explain how a person could get from Carrboro to the new Weaver Street Market in Hillsborough- by bus?
I understand the fares- but which days and what times are available?
(Why are local mass transit sites always so hard to use?)
Also- are they usually on time? How much walking and waiting is involved? How long is the trip?
I really want to use public transportation-- I'd like to be able to use it to go beyond my home base of Carrrboro/Chapel Hill.
But with all I've heard of late and broken-down buses, I can't get past my fear of getting stranded 15 to 30 miles (or more) from my home.
... then having to call someone to pick me up- or pay a fortune for a cab to get home (anyone looked at Triangle cab prices lately?)
Weekend and evening schedules seem especially risky (and some scenarios I've entered at this site are coming up as 4 hour trips to travel 10 miles. That can't be right!)
Thanks for the site suggestion. I'm going to play with it; but for now, I think I'll start small-- and stay within the city limits of Carrboro/Chapel Hill.
baby steps.
I have a car, but my feeling about what is "local" (for me) is shrinking not expanding -- rising cost of fuel, fixed income...
While I'd like to consider all of Orange County as local-- practically (for me), it's not.
One of the reasons I make sacrifices to stay in Carrboro (contrary to popular opinion- this is an expensive little town to live in) is the bus system. When all else fails, I can at least "get around" and find everything I need in a very small area where even walking is possible (as a last resort).
I don't think I'll live long enough to see triangle-wide, well-coordinated, dependable, convenient transportation- 7 days/ week.
This should be a priority, but it won't be until gas gets to $10/ gallon-- and by then we'll be in crisis mode.
I use public transportation every weekday and occasionally on weekends. I'm constantly bugging my coworkers and friends about riding the bus, and occasionally one or two of them even do it.
This is the first time I've heard about a name change for OPT, and I just saw its director a week ago! I'm somewhat surprised, but I guess it's not particularly under OUT's purview. The OUT board has been discussing expanding transit expansion since it started, of course. It is astonishingly complicated, however.
-Bryn
Public transit requires three transfers and about 35-40 minutes to cover the 2.1 miles from my house to my office. Driving takes me down Weaver Dairy, up Erwin, and across 15-501 to the Europa Center. The bus takes me in the other direction, up MLK to downtown Chapel Hill and to the Europa Center via Franklin Street. So I drive.
But I do use the bus for non-work commuting.
From East Franklin, from Varsity down to Eastgate, you can catch a TriangleTransit (formerly known as TTA) every 20 or so minutes at peak hours, and every hour in the middle of the day. If you get the bus with the 1 in the number (412 or 413, depending on direction), you stop at New Hope Commons, all along University Dr, Target, and then on to Duke. After Duke, it goes downtown, then to the American Tobacco Campus, NCCU, along Fayetteville St, and Southpoint. The bus does occasionally break down, but that really doesn't happen that often. It's usually fairly reliable.
As far as cost goes, it's $2 one way, $4 for an all-day pass, $16 for a 10-ride, and $64 for a month. If you work at UNC or BCBS (but not Duke) you can get a free pass.
-Bryn
For a few years, there was a cross-town bus that went down MLK, down Estes, and from there left on Franklin toward Durham. It had about 2 riders a week, apparently, and it was cancelled. I rode it whenever I could, but it wasn't enough.
-Bryn
Mr. Peterson, I find it interesting that you are for spending taxpayer's money in a very tight budget year to repainting buses and changing the name on everything but then want to save by merging the Chapel Hill and OPT bus service.
Merging the systems would require leadership and a change of attitudes both at the top and in the rank and file.
As for your question: no, I don't use the bus systems because I live west of Chapel Hill and work in Durham and in order to use TTA would triple my time to get to work. I have looked recently into changing but I don't fine it very user friendly.
Advertising firms exist for a reason, advertising draws in more customers which makes companies more money. A positive chance from OPT to The Orange Bus could result in a dramatic increase in usage, which is the best possible outcome. In fact, if I had to guess, I would bet that you are confusing OPT with CHT. OPT doesn't really do routes, they do personal transportation for the most part.
I think CHT should provide more routes, I totally agree with that. Of course, I also think that CHT should add tasteful advertising to their buses as a way of educating the public about certain types of goings-on and for increasing revenue. For instance, a Carrboro Farmer's Market partial-wrap would be visually appealing and useful, while generating revenue. A few others that jump into my head are Playmakers, Ackland, Tarheel Olympic sports, even basketball and football. I'm not talking about this.
I'm talking about something small like this, but as a wrap.
Although, I like this one as well. ; )
One man with courage makes a majority.
- Andrew Jackson
Not sure how long you have been in this area Mr. Peterson but I recall when OPT started and there was discussions about CHT providing the service. Lets just say the sides couldn't get on the same page. I also recall that OPT is controlled (?) by the Dept. on Aging. There was a target group to serve and no routes as you say. Unsure if they have moved from that goal or desire to. Which brings me to my point that OPT is really not a public bus service and I'm pretty sure that Hillsborough is too small to support a bus system. Now supporting service from Hillsborough to CH/Carr or Durham and back may work.
As for seeing a Farmers Market add on a CHT bus in the future don't count on that. Would not be a wise decision for the Market leadership and one I would oppose as a Market member.
I was on the T-board for Chapel Hill when we suggested outside advertising. The town did not like the idea because some of the potential ads folks did not find attractive. Also the amount generated was not very much. Maybe it is time to look into it again. There is some advertising money generated from inside the buses. So much of bus service funding comes from local taxes so it is always an issue when service is extented outside current service areas. I personally would be willing to pay more but I may be in the minority. OCT or Orange buses is a great option. They didn't have a bike rack when I used it to go to Hillsboro for early voting but they did let me put my bike inside. I hope they will continue to do this. Now is a great time to try using the buses. I think if you contact Triange Transit they will give you a free day pass. I received one during the Smart Commute campaign.
Loren
Well, I live in Chatham County but in a Chapel Hill ZIP. I don't have a lot of occasions to ride the bus in CH but for some reason the mental image of an orange bus is sort of intriguing. Will it clash with Chapel Hill's UNC Blue fire trucks, though? I recently hosted a friend from California and we went into town to eat breakfast at Whole Foods/Penguins. He was completely intrigued with the blue fire trucks. Said he never had seen anything like them. I guess they don't really scream, "Alarm!" color-wise, but more like, "No worries, folks. Yeah, a building might be burning, but we've got it under control and the sky will still be Tar Heel Blue tomorrow." Sorta' like Chapel Hill being the only place I've lived where a street full of speed bumps is called a "Traffic Calming Area." Gotta' love it!
Those blue fire trucks are fun. Just so you know, the blue ones are the fire trucks that UNC bought for the Town of Chapel Hill to assist Chapel Hill taxpayers with the burden of providing fire protection to UNC buildings which pay no property taxes.
Someone correct me on that point if I am mistaken.
UNC definitely bought some firetrucks for the Town of Chapel Hill. I think htey have done so twice. I know for certain that we struck such a deal around 1996 when I was on the Council. I believe I also recall that Rep. Joe Hackney was instrumental in getting that plan approved by the legislature.
As for the aesthetics, I don't really care much about the color one wayor another, but the Ramses/firefighter logo on the side the trucks is very cool.
Mark,
UNC's lack of funding for the fire services it gets from the Town of Chapel HIll was a major topic at a meeting with the legislative delegation (Hackney et al.) a little more than 4 years ago. Town Manager Cal Horton (now retired) gave a clarification about the funding for the several blue trucks that have turned up since then. When the first one hit the streets, he said (to paraphrase): "we discovered that this fire truck was not the victim of large damaging objects thrown by inebriated college students." Apparently, the others red ones were on a regular basis. Therefore, the Town bought Carolina blue fire trucks from then on.
Many don't realize that all of UNC's fire services are provided by Chapel Hill. (If there is UNC property in Carrboro or in a rural fire district, the services would be provided by those entities). It's estimated that as much as $2 million a year is not reimbursed by legislative appropriations. The appropriations which exist go back to the many municipalities in the state which supply fire services to the UNC system campuses they host. It's likely that Chapel Hill has the largest proportionate shortfall, because of the ratio of overall Town budget to the number and size of buildings protected.
Ed Harrison
I think it is interesting that right now so many people are stepping away from their cars and into the bus, at the same time I am stepping away from the bus and onto my bike. Short-sightedness by this building's designer leaves me far, far away from a shower and locker room, so it isn't an option on really hot days like today. I have a hard time even registering that gas costs so much, since I rarely fill up our one car. When I do fill it up and the price says $60 or $70 it doesn't really register. I mean, that can't be what it actually costs to fill up a car, right? I can't imagine what life is like for those people who are filling their SUV up twice a week and getting 7 mpg.
One man with courage makes a majority.
- Andrew Jackson