The start of Tulsa’s bus rapid transit service is being pushed back from late August to late fall.
Tulsa Transit General Manager Ted Rieck said there have been some hold-ups acquiring land for Aero stations along the intended Peoria Avenue route, as well as underground utilities to deal with in some areas.
"Being a relatively older corridor, we’ve run into some issues with relocating them or making sure we don’t get into the middle of an electrical line or things like that. So, that whole process of going through the utilities is just taking a lot longer than originally scheduled," Rieck said.
When service starts, Aero buses will run from 54th Street North to 81st Street South seven days a week.
"We’re not giving an exact day because we’re still reviewing the construction schedule, but probably late fall. November-ish may be the closest I can give you at this point," Rieck said.
Tulsans will likely see an Aero marketing campaign begin in September. The Tulsa Transit board approved this week an additional $69,500 in the Aero marketing contract with Propeller Communications. They hope the nearly 50% boost will help increase ridership by getting people who don’t typically use transit on an Aero bus.
