Edmond's Bus Network: Citylink

Maybe this should be in the transportation thread, I'm not really sure. Anyways, just wanted to have a thread for Edmond's bus network with news and updates on it.

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Edmond's public transportation service, Citylink, began operating July 1, 2009. The Citylink Transfer Center is located in beautiful downtown Edmond at the Festival Marketplace, one block west of Broadway on First Street.

All buses are wheelchair and bicycle friendly and all rides and transfers are free!

- Edmond, OK - Official Website - Citylink Edmond

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City Link is closed on these days

New Years Day
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Day

Here are some other resources:

Citylink Edmond
Chip Nolen
City of Edmond
Transportation Coordinator

Ph: (405) 509-6370

Here is are the schedules:

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Also, keep in mind you can pick up a flyer at
Transfer Center
Festival Market Place
1 Block West of Broadway on 1st

Here is the PDF doc. http://www.edmondok.com/DocumentCenter/View/1006 and here is another link to some photoshare website http://issuu.com/cityofedmond/docs/c...2.30.11_online

Here are the bus route maps

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How long has Edmond had public buses? The only thing I've ever seen rolling around Edmond are the rubber tired trolleys.

2009.

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Originally Posted by catch22

2009.

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Thanks Catch! I've been in Edmond plenty of times since then but never really paid attention, I guess. I will have to do so next time. Their system looks less confusing than OKC's, so that's good!

This would be an awesome addition to the Citylink bus network

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CityLink Transfer Station and parking with Pedestrian Bridge

- See more at: City eyes $143M in new projects » Local News » The Edmond Sun

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City moves bus funds to own budget » Local News » The Edmond Sun

Hopefully this works out

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City eyes revenue plans for Citylink
James Coburn
CNHI News Service

EDMOND — Funding challenges caused the Edmond City Council to explore new ways to increase revenue generation for Citylink at a special workshop Monday.

TischlerBise President Carson Bise shared strategy recommendations made by his national consulting firm that is located in Maryland.

About a year ago, the Edmond Transportation Committee recognized a deficit in its budget, said Councilwoman Victoria Caldwell, committee chairwoman.

In fiscal 2013-14, the net city budget for Citylink was $898,679, but ridership continues to grow significantly each year. As federal funds for the program shrink, city officials are searching for ways to still fund free rides for Edmond residents.

Citylink had a ridership of 277,475 during fiscal year 2013-14, said Chip Nolan, transportation coordinator.

“We became aware that we needed to at least make ourselves aware of as many different sources of funding,” Caldwell said.

Bise contrasted the city’s current funding stream that comes from the general fund by saying most cities have a tax base going into a special revenue fund for this type of project.

“Your local funding now is about 65 percent,” Bise said.

Advertising is the most common method of generating sales. TischlerBise estimates Citylink could capture from $50,000 to $200,000 annually through advertising sales, Bise said.

- See more at: City eyes revenue plans for Citylink » Local News » The Edmond Sun

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Considering advertising. I think it would be cool.

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The Edmond Public Transpiration Committee on Thursday discussed advertising program recommendations for Citylink. The Edmond City Council asked the committee in August to explore new ways to increase revenue generation for Citylink.

In fiscal 2013-14, the net city budget for Citylink was $898,679, but ridership continues to grow significantly each year. As federal funds for the program shrink, city officials are searching for ways to still fund free rides for Edmond residents.

There are two ways of advertising on Citylink, either hire an advertising agency to do all the work or for the city’s marketing department to sell ad space and collect all the revenue for Citylink, said Chip Nolan, transportation coordinator.

“For in-house we’d have to figure out how many staff that requires for hiring additional people,” Nolan said. “Citylink would pay for the marketing services.”

The consulting firm TischlerBise estimates Citylink could capture from $50,000-$200,000 annually through advertising sales. Citylink had a ridership of 277,475 during fiscal year 2013-14, Nolan said.

- Advertising plans for Citylink being discussed - The Edmond Sun: News

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Update on new ridership which is steadily increasing.

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Edmond’s local public transportation system known as Citylink has expanded significantly since the city introduced the service eight years ago, said Larry Stevens, city manager.

The service features four local routes and one express route to and from Oklahoma City. An on-demand paratransit service is also available within 3/4 of a mile from all fixed routes.

“Since we started, the Citylink ridership has basically increased on a regular basis,” Stevens said. “In the last budget year over 290,000 people (rides) used that service during the year,” he said.

Read more here: Edmond Citylink ridership up | News | edmondsun.com

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I would like to see City Link to start charging for bus fares and build a card system similar to TAP in LA by 2020. Another big thing is better bus shelters.

http://edmondok.com/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=455

The bus service will only stop at bus stops starting October 16th. They used to stop anywhere along the route.

http://www.edmondsun.com/news/cityli...7d9f0b9e0.html

New bus benches and shelters will be installed by Tyler Media who will use them to advertise. There will be around 45 new benches and shelters with most being benches.

http://newsok.com/edmond-hops-on-new...rticle/5586652

My main concern is the bus shelters being best designed for protecting its users and not pandering to making the advertisements easily visible to car traffic. I would like to see how they will be designed and perhaps will be similar to the ones in Norman.

Is it common practice in other cities to have bus benches and shelters to be installed by the media companies who will advertise on them? This seems like a poor plan, but I admit, I don't know how widespread such a practice is.

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Originally Posted by Nick

Is it common practice in other cities to have bus benches and shelters to be installed by the media companies who will advertise on them? This seems like a poor plan, but I admit, I don't know how widespread such a practice is.

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I am unsure how many cities allow the media company themselves to install the shelters and benches. The articles states Norman does it. I don't know how theirs turned out. Edmond has placed pretty strict guidelines on them.

Here are some key requirements:

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The company will be required to remove any graffiti within 48 hours at no cost to the city, and any repairs will be fixed within 72 hours, unless parts are needed.

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The company will also be required to pay for concrete pads, the benches and shelters, and any upkeep and maintenance that is required.

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It seems like a good deal as long as they are designed properly. Oklahoma(well, I have to admit on this one this is far from just being an Oklahoman thing) does not know how to install shelters properly. They hardly protect you from the elements. I sent a message to the city asking about designs and I'll post the response.

I found one on Google Streetview in Norman. I am guessing they will more alike than different.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4788/...68ecddc2_b.jpg

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.2038...7i13312!8i6656

I am not nuts about it but it isn't as a bad as I thought. Comparable to the ones in LA or better which they suck for the most part. I do wish the roof was slightly larger and it was protected on both sides. Now I can talk about bus shelters for days and a quick Google search can show how creative and cool bus shelters can be. Things like this go a long ways to enticing more riders.

Edmond’s CityLink now has a live tracking feature: https://citylink.ridesystems.net/

Changes coming to CityLink:

“ Beginning on Monday, August 2, 2021, there are some route changes that will take place.

Route 1 will no longer go by the UCO campus on the way to Walmart. Please see our new schedule posted at citylinkedmond.com for the complete new schedule.

Route 4 has minor time changes to it as well. Those can be viewed at our website as well.

We are happy to announce that at your request we have added a route 3/4 Saturday schedule. This new route will operate from 9:15Am to 5:15PM each Saturday. The new Saturday Route 3/4 will begin on Saturday August 7, 2021.”

- https://www.edmondok.com/205/Citylink-Edmond

I've been wanting to try Edmond's bus service, but it's impractical for me since the citylink only runs M-F. If they'd have a few weekend trips then I'd go up there and try to get around a little by their system.

Yeah the Saturday service is a good start. Edmond really needs to consider more funding for their transit network. It’s free which is awesome I hope it stays that way. I’d phase it like this:

1. Start with 7 day a week service with certain routes going until 2am on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Add select holiday service.

2. Expand the fleet and upgrade to larger busses on the most popular routes. Enhance OKC connection with more frequencies. Also upgrade existing busses to natural gas or electric.

3. Add a new direct express route goes straight from downtown Edmond to OKC via Broadway and I-235.

Not happy about the proposed removal of the 100x commuter route to the Social Security Center.

https://youtu.be/8_q9B8giLfc

The 100x commuter route will be reduced(not removed) and two new routes added:

https://okcfox.com/news/local/city-o...ember-30-2022#