Great changes coming to OKC's bus system!

[Urban Pioneer]

Cannot reveal details yet. Stay tuned!

[OKCisOK4me]

Without taking streetcar money? YAY!!!

[ljbab728]

So did Ed get results already? LOL

[Urban Pioneer]

I'm sure he'd like you to think that! LOL

[krisb]

Why does it have to be secret? Is it not the recommendations that have been discussed at public meetings?

[soonerguru]

I think some more info is going to be forthcoming tomorrow. I'm excited. Some much needed good news for our bus system. Things are on the right track!

I've heard some of it. One conclusion I've drawn is that Ed Shadid is misleading his supporters into believing that operation and maintenance costs for the bus system are being "taken" by the streetcar. I think the news tomorrow will pretty much destroy that canard.

[CaptDave]

Can't wait - I know Rick Cain said he was working on plans for the future of OKC Transit.

[CuatrodeMayo]

Just got the email.

Awesome!

[Urban Pioneer]

Here is a direct link to all of the information we have collated thus far. If your not on the email list, feel free to sign up or join our Facebook account. I would post the email verbatim here, but I am not sure how to do it effectively.

OKC Bus Improvements, Streetcar, Regional System Planning

[HangryHippo]

nm

[CaptDave]

It is good to hear the Metro Transit director say they are working on tracking technology. It should be a relatively easy system to implement since off the shelf systems exist. Hopefully they will integrate an app so people can track buses on portable devices. Overall good news - and establishing the long sought Regional Transit Authority cannot come soon enough IMO.

[OKCisOK4me]

Here is a direct link to all of the information we have collated thus far. If your not on the email list, feel free to sign up or join our Facebook account. I would post the email verbatim here, but I am not sure how to do it effectively.

OKC Bus Improvements, Streetcar, Regional System Planning

Surely that can't be new news. It says at the bottom of the release that the next transit meeting is on July 25th.

[CaptDave]

Surely that can't be new news. It says at the bottom of the release that the next transit meeting is on July 25th.

MTP adds new news above the previous newsletters, but leaves the older articles in place so a new reader can read back a few months I think.

[Urban Pioneer]

July versus August was my mistake. We are going to send out a correction with the streetcar video in a bit. I missed the month change.

[OKCisOK4me]

Ahhhh... got it ;-)

[krisb]

That is very exciting! Thanks for sharing.

[Urban Pioneer]

Your welcome. Wait till you see the video of the streetcar route!

[PhiAlpha]

Kinda blows up the whole streetcar vs bus arguement Shadid created.

[CaptDave]

Kinda blows up the whole streetcar vs bus arguement Shadid created.

It was never a valid argument and they knew it.

I am most interested in the bus tracking technology. That alone will be a huge improvement and might encourage more elective ridership.

[krisb]

Kinda blows up the whole streetcar vs bus arguement Shadid created.

Shadid has been advocating for these improvements for awhile, along with many others. This is a big step, but more funding is needed to expand service on evenings and weekends.

[ljbab728]

I knew it, UP. Shadid is going to try to take some credit for this even if it doesn't involve taking money from the streetcar system. LOL

[Teo9969]

I really hope that bike racks are a part of the shelter package.

This city would be infinitely easier to navigate without a car if we could integrate bikes into our mass-transit infrastructure. After being in Europe for 7 weeks, I think I'm definitely going to buy a bike when I get home, if nothing else to get to some of the closer locations to my house: Wal-Mart, 7/11, Western Ave, Classen Triangle and Curve.

[betts]

This is a big step, but more funding is needed to expand service on evenings and weekends.

I agree, but that kind of funding comes out of operations and maintenance budgets, not capital improvements funding like MAPS. The city is either going to have to find more money in its existing budget or go to the people for a new tax. How many voters do you think will vote for a tax to expand the hours of bus service as a stand-alone item? That's why some of us have been advocating for an RTD and making the bus system part of a system that includes rail. The streetcar, new and fun to use, will attract new transit riders and will help sell the idea of improving transit as a whole to voters. Similar to how the park, river improvements, sidewalks and the streetcar allowed MAPS to pass, despite items most people weren't as interested in like the Convention Center and the fairgrounds, rail transit can pull improved bus operations into the mix. People just might vote to tax themselves for rail transit where they probably won't for an expanded bus system.

[Teo9969]

The more I think about it, rail transit accomplished by means of municipal dollars seems less viable.

The only reason to do it would be to connect Yukon/Mustang, Edmond, Midwest City, and Norman/Moore to downtown/each other...I could see it being immensely difficult to get all 6 to 8 municipalities involved in the system to agree to pool costs for the system (with OKC obviously taking the brunt of the costs). Traffic doesn't seem bad enough and probably won't be for the foreseeable future.

The N/S line from Edmond to Norman probably will happen relatively soon...maybe planned within the next 10 years and built in the next 20. But that's going to cost a lot of money and not really improve transit situations for those who need it most.

OKC needs to focus on making the most efficient system possible in a concentrated area. Starting downtown and moving outward from there. We need to target dependable, 20 minute intervals (and less during rush hours). If the system can't handle a route with that level of efficiency, then the route probably needs to be removed.

[CaptDave]

The only reason to do it would be to connect Yukon/Mustang, Edmond, Midwest City, and Norman/Moore to downtown/each other...I could see it being immensely difficult to get all 6 to 8 municipalities involved in the system to agree to pool costs for the system (with OKC obviously taking the brunt of the costs).

That is exactly the plan Teo. All those municipalities are meeting now to work on the details. Even if one opts out, you can look at the history of DART and see where they will eventually realize that is a mistake and ask to be included.

The history of DART is very informative and quite likely very similar to how a central Oklahoma regional transit agency will evolve. The first few years will be spent optimizing the bus service followed by the "easy" rail projects - Edmond to Norman, or Adventure Line will probably be first. Then downtown to MWC/Tinker, Yukon, Mustang/Will Rogers Airport, and maybe even Guthrie will follow. All passengers inbound to downtown OKC will be served by the downtown streetcar OKC had the vision to build despite the naysayers.