Tulsa Transit wants to give bus drivers a 4 percent raise and start running a downtown circulator.
General Manager Bill Cartwright said changes to the Lift program are going to save money without reducing service, and those savings will cover most of the raises.
"Internally, we'll be able to generate the funds with our savings to take care of the 3 percent of the 4," Cartwright said. "Our plan calls for 1 percent to come from the City of Tulsa."
Tulsa Transit is looking for $75,000 from the city to pay for raises, which drivers haven't received since 2011. The agency is going to stop selling bulk Lift passes to a private Medicaid transportation program.
Tulsa's free downtown trolley will be replaced by Tulsa Transit buses. The price of the trolley, which was privately funded, went up.
Debbie Ruggles with Tulsa Transit said two old buses can be refurbished for $106,000.
"We would need to repower them, put a new engine and a new transmission in them so that we can extend their life," Ruggles said. "We certainly would want to wrap them, and then there's some internal configuration that we would want to change that would give more [standing] as opposed to sitting."
Ruggles said they'll start downtown but are looking at a phased approach that will go outside the Inner Dispersal Loop.
"For instance, when the Gathering Place is open, we would be adding a shuttle from the downtown area," she said. "Basically, covering the general area that's being covered, but we'd take people to the Gathering Place at least during the months of April through October."
Ruggles said the service could expand to daytime hours.
