Tulsa’s Aero bus rapid transit service on Peoria Avenue is expected to start this year, and it looks like it will be free to ride for a limited time.
City Councilor Kara Joy McKee pitched six months of free BRT rides at January’s mayor-council retreat. With the proposed city budget expected this month, McKee said she has buy-in from Mayor G.T. Bynum and other city councilors.
"But, right now, we’ve got a lot of things that we need to pay for. So, what we’ve got is a month of free BRT service when we first launch," McKee said.
McKee hopes demonstrating the process of riding BRT in a no-risk setup convinces Tulsans to become long-term riders.
"The anxiety about all of the different ways that — How do I get on the bus? Where do I get, how do I get, all of that — the more of those things we can take out of the equation, the more likely people are to use it," McKee said.
Peoria Avenue Aero service is expected to cost around $3 million a year. A Route 66 line is also in the works.
McKee said she’s optimistic car-centric Tulsans will fully embrace the new form of transit.
"If it really looks like a free BRT is something that the citizens of Tulsa want, it might be something that we could find funding for in the future. The best way that people could show that is by showing up and getting on the bus," McKee said.
Aero service is expected to begin in late August, with buses running every 10 to 15 minutes from 54th Street North to 81st Street South.
