WAKE FOREST PUBLIC TRANSIT PLAN
PREFERRED OPTION FEASIBILITY The project team developed planning-level costs to understand the level of resources that is likely needed to start- up and operate the preferred transit option. These costs are high-level costs and are the project team’s opinion of likely costs based on information and assumptions made during the planning study. PLANNING-LEVEL COSTS CAPITAL COSTS The capital cost for initializing the preferred transit option is primarily for the installation of new bus stops on the circulator routes and the microtransit node-to-node service. Since the routes are adjustments to the WFL, the existing bus can be used for the new routes, primarily on the West Loop. The project team identified the need for 15 new stops, however, additional analysis is needed to evaluate the specific need for each bus stop and its location. Additionally, as new developments open and expand in the future, the Town will evaluate the need for new bus stops. The planning-level cost estimated to implement the 15 bus stops is approximately $180,000. This cost assumes a general unit cost per bus stop of $12,000, however the range of costs can be between $5,000 to $19,000 per stop. The cost will depend on the needs at each specific bus stop, such as sidewalk connections, concrete pads, right-of-way, post and signage, shelters, benches, and trash receptacles. For the microtransit service (if deployed as a node-to-node service) 10 of the 16 nodes will require a bus stop with a concrete pad and shelter to provide a comfortable place for riders to wait to access the microtransit service – the remaining six are existing WFL bus stops that have a pad and shelter. The planning-level cost estimated to implement 10 bus stops is approximately $190,000. This cost assumes a general unit cost per bus stop of $19,000 to account for the higher costs of a concrete pad, shelter, and potentially right-of-way needs. OPERATING COSTS The project team’s opinion of the planning-level total annual operating costs for the preferred option is between $1,337,000 and $3,016,000. This is the cost to operate both circulator routes (East and West loops) and the Southern Wake Forest Microtransit. The range is dependent on a 60-minute or 30-minute frequency for the West Loop and a low or high demand for the microtransit service (a higher frequency and a higher microtransit demand is on the high-end of the cost range). The section below provides costs for several options that the Town can use to identify the best level of service based on available funding.
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