EDMOND — The rising cost of Edmond’s contract with Metro Transit has caused city council members to take a look at other local transit service possibilities.
Advertisement
Council members held a workshop today on a draft of a seven-month feasibility study by Colorado consultants. The study cost the city about $72,000.
Edmond officials will pay $480,644 this fiscal year to Metro Transit for fixed-route and complementary American with Disabilities transit services. There are three public service routes — The Eddy Trolley system, the Broncho Bus and an express service that runs to Oklahoma City. The city pays 79 percent of the contract. The University of Central Oklahoma pays the rest.
The cost is expected to increase about 25.5 percent to $603,831 next fiscal year.
Kyle P. Kosmas, senior transportation planner for LSC Transportation Consultants, Inc., said the primary focus of the study is to determine the feasibility of continuing transit service in Edmond as well as to determine the most cost-effective and efficient means.
One of the biggest problems of the current system is the lack of riders, a concern of council members.
The study shows there are 70,000 annual one-way trips, with one-third of the rides made on the express route to Oklahoma City. Cost per trip averages about $17.
Information for the study was partly gathered from a telephone survey of approximately 400 households and interviews with community leaders.
That survey showed 53 percent of people had not heard of the Edmond transit service, indicating more advertising and marketing may be warranted, Kosmas said. Also, 88 percent of people had never used the service.
City officials want public comments on the study from residents. They also are considering asking for requests for qualifications from other transit providers.
Thank you for joining our conversations on NewsOK.com. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
Editor's note: It is not our intent to offer comments on crime or fatality stories.
Leave a comment.
Log in below or sign up (it's free).
What about a park and ride system for the OKC metro area? Basically rail service could run from 1 or 2 sites each in Edmond, Yukon, Midwest City, and Norman where people from those cities could drive there, hop on a train and ride into downtown or Bricktown or something like that. It wouldn't be a complete rail system, but it would be a start.
Edmond has mass transit? The region had a fairly good system until the 60's. OKC pulled up the trolley tracks back then and the interurban tracks to Edmond in the 80's. Why doesn't Edmond apply for a federal grant to run a system like the one in McAlester. It is called KATS- Kibois Area Transit System. It runs totally on federal grant money. It is administered by ODOT with funding through the Federal Transit Administration.
It is not always on time. I had an employee who used the system after he moved from Edmond to OKC, after a few months he moved on due to the pains of the transit system. Agree with Jay most locals will never use a bus unless the system is timely and hassle free.
6
Thank you for joining our conversations on NewsOK.com. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
Leave a comment. Log in below or sign up (it's free).Editor's note: It is not our intent to offer comments on crime or fatality stories.