Title
Public Hearing and Decision on Consolidation and Coordination of Public Transportation Grant Application
Action
Action:
A. Conduct a public hearing regarding authorization of the City Manager, or his designee, to apply for a grant in the amount of up to $522,000 with the North Carolina Department of Transportation for consolidation and coordination of regional public transportation,
B. Adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager, or his designee, to apply for a grant in an amount up to $522,000 with the North Carolina Department of Transportation for consolidation and coordination of regional public transportation,
C. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to accept a grant in an amount of up to $522,000 from the North Carolina Department of Transportation for consolidation and coordination of regional public transportation, and
D. Adopt a budget ordinance appropriating $522,000 from the North Carolina Department of Transportation for consolidation and coordination of regional public transportation to the CATS Operating Fund contingent upon being named a successful grant recipient.
Body
Staff Resource(s):
Brent Cagle, CATS
Jason Lawrence, CATS
Brian Horton, CATS
Explanation
§ This resolution authorizes the city to submit an application to the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s (NCDOT) Consolidation and Coordination of Public Transportation program (ConCPT).
§ NCDOT provides financial assistance in the form of ConCPT grants to public transit systems to assist in coordinating trips between three or more transit systems for long-distance routes that run every weekday on a fixed route with a published schedule. The coordination efforts established with this program are designed to maximize resources, gain efficiencies, and improve access to public transportation.
§ NCDOT requires grant applicants to hold a public hearing and endorse the grant application by local resolution.
§ The CONNECT Beyond planning process identified the need to create a more seamless transit riding experience for customers traveling between systems. This grant project begins aligning service planning efforts between transit agencies including the timing of transfers between systems, public timetable scheduling, publishing of consistent Google Transit Feed Specifications for real-time data and trip-planning, and accepting fares at transfer points between local transit systems.
§ CATS, with support from the Centralina Regional Council, will lead activities to coordinate service planning and digital trip planning between local transit agencies across the Charlotte region.
§ The project will provide Remix training for all participating public transit agencies, which may include Rider Transit, Gastonia Transit, Salisbury Transit, Iredell County Area Transit System, Mecklenburg County Transportation System, and Union County Transportation.
§ The ConCPT Coordination Grant will:
- Expand the CATS license of Remix software platform for fixed-route and on-demand service planning to be shared with surrounding transit providers for three years,
- Provide Remix training for all participating public transit agencies,
- Pilot the CATS Pass App to integrate connecting transit agencies for seamless payments and transfers between participating systems,
- Add the ability for trip-planning between adjoining systems,
- Provide marketing of the expanded CATS Pass App, and
- Support regional staff assistance and on-going coordination and logistics to advance, implement, and maintain the grant project.
§ Local match requirement equates to 20 percent of the funding or $104,400.
Fiscal Note
Funding: NCDOT ConCPT Grant and CATS Operating Budget
Attachments
Attachment(s)
Resolution
Budget Ordinance