Draft Action Plan for Public Transportation in Wake County June 22, 2009

Triangle Transit Organization Established by General Assembly in 1989 as unit of local government 12-member Board of Trustees Capable of acting on a multi-jurisdictional basis in Durham, Orange & Wake counties Funding: $5 Vehicle Registration Fee, 5% Rental Car Tax, State Grants, Federal Grants, and Fares Providing regional transit & planning services Bus, Shuttle & Paratransit Service Vanpool, Carpool & Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Long-Range Public Transportation Planning

Triangle Transit by the Numbers Regional bus ridership is up significantly – July through May of FY 09 ridership is up 22.5% over the same period last year. There was a total of 1,035,000 passenger boardings compared to 845,000 over the same period last year. TTA vanpool ridership has increased over the previous year – There are 78 vans now serving 13 counties; 13 Million vehicle miles taken off area roads. There are several vanpools organized and awaiting vans. 325,000 calls served at the Go Triangle Regional Transit Information Center (485-RIDE) in FY 09. SmartCommute Challenge: participation of 12,200 in the Triangle

Special Transit Advisory Commission “STAC” STAC commissioned by CAMPO and DCHC “Capital Area MPO” & “Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro MPO” Regional cross section of 29 stakeholders Final Report published in May 2008 Buses, Circulators, 51 miles of Rail ($2.27 Billion, 2007 $) Assumed DMU vehicle technology except Chapel Hill to Durham LRT Assumed no federal funds for first project Recommended ½ cent sales tax as funding mechanism

2035 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP)  Projects considered to be desirable for inclusion in the LRTP exceeded $20 billion dollars in total cost  Funds from traditional revenue sources, toll roads, non-tolled trust fund urban loops, maintenance, and transit funding sources is projected to generate approximately $8 billion dollars, leaving a $12 billion dollar shortfall in required funding  New sources of revenue totaling $5.8 billion have been assumed to help address the gap:  ½ cents sales tax in 2011 and 2016: $2.7 billion  Regional, local, and private support from communities that have agreed to contribute to projects considered vital to their area: $1.2 billion  New State and/or Federal infrastructure programs for Strategic Highway Corridors: $1.1 billion  Increased car registration fee in 2011: $185 million  Debt financing to pay for initial rail construction: $585 million  Some projects in the proposed LRTP totaling $6 billion were left unfunded in order to produce a financially feasible plan

Regional Transit Vision

Comparison of Existing (2005 Base Year), Projected 2035 E+C, and 2035 LRTP Network Travel Conditions

2005 Base-Year PM Peak Period Total Daily Volume: 66,357 Total Daily Volume: 62,868 Total Daily Volume: 66,010 Total Daily Volume: 30,631 Total Daily Volume: 33,454 Total Daily Volume: 31,469

Total Daily Volume: 87,388 Total Daily Volume: 84,345 Total Daily Volume: 90,291 Total Daily Volume: 42,397 Total Daily Volume: 57,541 Total Daily Volume: 30,594 Projected Travel Times from RDU on I- 40 Based on 2035 E+C Highway and Transit Improvement Projects

Total Daily Volume: 77,490 Total Daily Volume: 89,217 Total Daily Volume: 94,585 Total Daily Volume: 45,785 Total Daily Volume: 85,623 Total Daily Volume: 56,904 Projected Travel Times from RDU on I-40 Based on 2035 LRTP Highway and Transit Improvement Projects

Benchmark Responsible Party Completion Date  STAC Plan STACMay 2008 LRTP DCHC/CAMPOFebruary 2009 Intermodal Bill NC LegislatureSummer County Financial Plans Triangle TransitCalendar 2009 Referendum Call Durham, Orange, Wake TBD Referendum Campaign Civic Groups TBD Successful Vote VotersTBD 

What are the Wake County Components of the Regional Plan?

Bus Service Expansion : Recommended: over 100 new buses 75 new buses by end of 2013 for express bus service between municipalities as well as additions to local services (C-Tran & CAT)

Core Bus Recommendations for the Town of Cary Regional Service: Apex/ Cary to NCSU/ Raleigh Regional Service: RTP to Morrisville to Cary to NCSU/ Raleigh Regional Service: Raleigh to Cary via Hillsborough Corridor Local Bus Service: Cary Parkway Circulator Local Bus Service: Cary to Apex Possible Regional Express: Cary to RDU Direct All routes receive Real-Time Passenger Information and other bus amenities

Initial Rail Transit Construction: Proposed Technology: Light Rail Transit (LRT) trains powered by electricity Project Description: NW Cary Station to Spring Forest Station Project Length: 17 miles Opening Date: December, 2019

Wake Rail Investment

Wake Rail Investment Continued

Funding Proposals 1/2 cent sales tax $3 increase in vehicle registration fee No Federal capital support for first project segment is assumed. Federal support and/or additional State and local support could also accelerate rail extensions north of Spring Forest and west of Cary.

Congestion Relief/ Intermodal Transport Fund (HB 148 & SB 151) The Bill is modeled after the the success in Charlotte and the unanimous recommendation of the 21 st Century Committee Introduced by Sen. Richard Stevens R-Wake and Rep. Becky Carney D- Mecklenburg with bi- partisan support Authorizes counties in Triangle and Triad to levy a ½ cent sales tax (dependent upon approval of referendum) and/or increase in vehicle registration fee for public transportation projects Authorizes all other counties to levy (upon approval of referendum) a ¼ sales tax and/or increase in vehicle registration fee for public transportation projects The Bill passed the House and is waiting to be heard in the Senate Finance Committee There is a strong coalition of support for the bill that includes business, environment, and community interest groups. Sales tax does not include food, medicine, housing or utilities

The Charlotte Experience Authority provided to Mecklenburg County in 1998 Referenda in 1998: 58% supported ½ cent for transit Referenda in 2007: 70% reaffirmed support for ½ cent for transit 2007: 9.6 mile light rail line opened; ridership nearly doubled projections in first year. Nearly $2 Billion in development along rail corridor Wake, Durham, and Orange seek identical authority

Southeast High Speed Rail “SEHSR” New Administration pledges $8 Billion investment in High Speed Rail North Carolina well positioned to compete for federal funds High Speed Rail connection (Max speed 110 miles per hour)from Washington to Raleigh to Atlanta

Questions? comments to