Embark officials on Friday released this rendering depicting a vehicle and passenger platform for Rapid, Oklahoma City’s bus rapid transit service scheduled to go online in late 2023 (Courtesy/Embark)
OKLAHOMA CITY – Design work on Embark’s first bus rapid transit, or BRT, line is nearly 95% complete with construction scheduled to begin next year and service starting late in 2023.
City officials anticipate many more commuters will use public transit once the service is available.
BRT often is explained as a hybrid of fixed-route bus service and light rail. Oklahoma City’s system, named Rapid, will operate with enhanced buses, 15-minute frequency and fewer stops than current bus routes.
Embark officials released the logo and renderings showing a vehicle and passenger platform Friday during a meeting of the Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority Board of Trustees.
“Embark’s vision is to deliver world-class transportation to our region. Rapid helps us move closer to that vision by creating connections where people can move more freely,” said Jason Ferbrache, Embark administrator.
“From our research and focus group conversations, it became exceedingly clear how committed the community is to supporting robust transit options that improve the accessibility to our neighborhoods, businesses and public spaces,” said Kym Koch-Thompson, principal of Koch Comm, which created the brand strategy.
The initial route is the 9.5-mile Northwest line that will run mainly along Northwest Expressway and Classen Boulevard, passing within one-half mile of 91,000 jobs and 40,000 residents.
Additional lines are being considered. The city’s $1 billion MAPS 4 program includes $60 million for advanced transit options that could include Rapid lines to south Oklahoma City/Capitol Hill, the NE 23rd Street corridor, the Adventure District and the Innovation District.
The long-range vision for the Rapid transit system is to bridge communities throughout central Oklahoma.
Rapid will use nine 40-foot natural gas-powered vehicles with upgraded seating and amenities including Wi-Fi. Fifteen pairs of raised-platform stops along the route will feature ADA-accessible boarding, real-time customer information, ticketing kiosk, security lighting, bike racks and branded pylons.
Pylons will make the stops easy to spot and will provide a route map on one side and a digital display on the other, said Michael Scroggins, Embark manager of marketing and technology.
“Our riders will only choose us if we are accessible to them,” Scroggins said. “Our greatest work is ahead of us.”
The Northwest line runs from downtown to a park-and-ride location at the end of the line at Northwest Expressway and Meridian Avenue. Other potential park-and-ride locations are at Northwest Expressway and Pennsylvania Avenue and at Embark’s Century Center parking garage at N Broadway Avenue and W. Main Street.
Riders also can walk or bike to any of the boarding locations.
The total cost of the first route is expected to be nearly $28.9 million, with 50% coming from a U.S. Department of Transportation grant. The city’s match comes from 2017 general obligation bonds, Better Street Safer City sales tax program and COTPA Trust funds.
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November 06, 2021 at 11:30AM
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BRT design work nears completion - Journal Record
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