Triangle Transit Authority

The Triangle Regional Transit Program (TRTP) is a collaborative framework for developing an efficient and sustainable regional transportation system for North Carolina’s Durham, Orange, and Wake counties. TRTP’s role is to addresses the Triangle’s critical need for improved connectivity and mobility choices while promoting its economic prosperity, job growth, and an enhanced quality of life.

Triangle Transit commissioned a major study to initiate fixed-guideway (light rail and commuter rail) transit service within the region. AECOM is the prime consultant providing program management services for the Triangle Transit’s three-county region and is supporting the implementation of rail and bus service improvements. We are leading a team that conducted an Alternatives Analysis (AA) study for three priority corridors, and evaluated and screened alternative alignments, modes and station locations within each corridor.

Once the Alternative Analysis was complete, a locally preferred alternative was adopted by the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Durham-Orange LRT (D-O LRT) corridor. Both Durham County and Orange County subsequently passed half-cent sales taxes to fund the project, while Wake County has yet to hold a referendum.

AECOM has submitted a package to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requesting authorization enter the Project Development phase according to MAP-21 requirements passed by Congress in October 2012. The AECOM team is now developing an environmental impact statement and conducting preliminary engineering for the D-O Corridor. Should Wake County pass a referendum and adopt an LPA for their two corridors, AECOM also will perform an environmental impact statement and preliminary engineering for those corridors.

North Carolina Turnpike Expressway Toll Operations

AECOM operates the Triangle Expressway for the North Carolina Turnpike Authority (NCTA), a division of the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT). The Expressway is an all-electronic tollway (AET) located in the Raleigh-Durham area; and it is the first of several toll roads being built throughout the state.

As a greenfield project, AECOM led the mobilization and startup of operations for the NC QuickPass Customer Service Center (CSC) and Traffic Management Center (TMC). This effort included site selection, lease negotiation, interior design and build-out, and provisioning of the 15,000 square-foot CSC facility. The CSC consists of a call center, customer storefront, mailroom, transponder storage, and satellite TMC. The main TMC is housed within the State Traffic Operations Center that is located 10 miles from the CSC.

During the implementation and startup phase, AECOM met every milestone on time or ahead of schedule, and within budget. In addition to establishing the required facilities, our work during this time included working closely with NCTA to develop all of the project operational plans and documents which included: 16 program plans, 11 main client reports, and 219 individual standard operating procedures (SOPs) across 15 functional areas.

Since startup, AECOM has provided full management and operations of the CSC and TMC. Within 60 days of collecting the first toll, we began operating the reservation call center in support of the NCDOT Ferry Division which serves customers traveling on the seven ferries serving the Outer Banks. Today, CSC services include call center operations; customer account management; image review; video processing; bill-by-mail invoicing; mail and e-mail processing; transponder management and distribution; audit/reconciliation of interoperable transactions; and Ferry phone reservations. We also manage a front-end collection process that includes: video bill issuance, payment receipt and processing, reconciliation, customer contact and follow-up, and escalation. As video accounts age, multiple levels of noticing are followed based on NCTA policy and North Carolina legislation. When unpaid accounts age beyond the allowable limit, AECOM works with the Department of Motor Vehicles to place registration holds on the vehicle and coordinates transfer of the account to a collection agency for further action.

TMC operations are conducted 24 hours a day, year-round. These services include: control center operations, courtesy patrol dispatch, and communications with media and other external agencies. Daily coordination occurs with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, whose Troop C Communications Center also occupies the TMC.