Orange County’s Board of Commissioners will begin discussions on Thursday night on developing a new transit plan. The board will work toward finding a replacement plan following the failed Durham-Orange Light Rail project.

Chair of the Board of Commissioners Penny Rich says the county’s technical committee has already had discussions on developing the new proposal; the committee includes two representatives from the county and one from each of the municipalities, including Mebane.

“The commuter rail has possibilities of getting right into maybe Burlington, and Mebane is really important now,” says Rich. “We have people that are starting to move to Mebane because of costs of living in Durham and Chapel Hill, but they’re still commuting. We need to move those folks around.”

The committee will also include representatives from GoTriangle and the Metropolitan Planning Organization. Rich says outside of projects such as Chapel Hill’s Bus Rapid Transit line and the possible commuter rail, the county wants to add more flexibility to their transit.

“We’re going to do a little more on-demand service,” she says. “We’re going to try and do a little more carpooling. We’re really looking outside the box because we know in rural communities transit just looks a whole lot different than it does down here.”

Rich expects the county to hold several meetings before the plan goes to a final vote by the county, the MPO and GoTriangle.

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