If you’re interested in improving public transit in Orange County, we need your feedback!
Orange County Public Transportation (OCPT) and County transit service providers Chapel Hill Transit and GoTriangle are seeking public input on proposed transit plan projects to be included in Orange County’s updated Transit Plan. This second phase of public engagement is focused on evaluating projects that can be funded with project transit tax revenues and prioritizing regional connections for future transit investments.
Residents, transit system users, and other interested stakeholders are asked to provide their thoughts on the proposed projects and the conceptual transit investment vision by participating in our online survey. The survey can also be accessed by scanning the QR code in the embedded graphic. If interested members of the public are not able to access the online survey, a paper survey can be requested by email or by calling (919) 636-5032 x 401 no later than Tuesday, March 1.
About the Orange County Transit Plan Update
In August 2009, the NC General Assembly ratified the Congestion Relief and Intermodal Transport Fund Act, allowing Orange, Durham, and Wake Counties to generate new revenue for public transportation. These revenues include a one-half cent sales tax (Article 43 sales tax) that can be levied in each county if approved by public referendum. Voters in Orange County approved the referendum on Nov. 6, 2012, by a 59-41 margin. A regional transportation public authority, known today as Go Triangle, was created to help administer these revenues and work on public transit service projects involving all three counties. The revenues from Article 43 are allocated by the North Carolina Department of Revenue to GoTriangle, which then allocates a portion of that money to Orange County through reimbursements for projects that either offer new public transit services or expand existing ones.
The Orange County Bus and Rail Investment Plan (now the Orange County Transit Plan) was first drafted in 2012 to allocate revenues generated by the transit tax. That plan included investments in new and expanded bus service and new capital infrastructure projects such as the Chapel Hill North-South Bus Rapid Transit Project, the Hillsborough Train Station, and the Durham-Orange Light Rail Project intended to connect employment, education, and health care centers in Durham and Chapel Hill. The Orange County Transit Plan was last updated in 2017 to revise financial assumptions for the Durham-Orange Light Rail Project.
In March 2019, the Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit project was discontinued. In response, Orange County began the process of updating the Transit Plan in late 2019. More information on the project can be found at the project website www.octransit2020.com.
