Tulsa Transit bus service in Turley will not end next month with the start of the Aero bus rapid transit system.
Route 105 service along Peoria Avenue will cease when Aero service starts Nov. 17 because they largely cover the same ground, but Aero stops at 54th Street North. The Tulsa Transit board on Tuesday approved modifying Route 110 so it splits at 56th Street North and offers service on Peoria to 63rd Street North and on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to 61st Street North.
Tulsa Transit is committing to the temporary service until April 4, 2020, and will look for a permanent solution. Buses will be less frequent than they are now, however, going from every 30 minutes to every 60.
"It’s the option that we can implement the soonest. Any other option will take a little bit more planning to accomplish. So, it’s really a question of time. Budget’s an important factor as well. We’re trying to do this without additional funding," said Tulsa Transit General Manager Ted Rieck.
Tulsa Transit also considered a Route 110 loop, Turley shuttle, and subsidized Uber or Lyft rides.
Running the "split end" route from November through March will cost $112,300. Rieck estimated having buses every 30 minutes would cost roughly double that.
Tulsa Transit will evaluate options for service every half hour, though that's not a guarantee one will be implemented. Tulsa Transit board member Phyllis Joseph formally asked the agency find a way to get frequency back down for Turley residents.
"The most important thing is they need that transit service to get to work, but there are people that need that transit service to get to the doctor, to go to dialysis and a variety of things," Joseph said. "So, I understand that’s their only transportation, so always, more often is going to be better for the customer."
Tulsa County Commissioner Stan Sallee relayed Turley residents' concerns to the transit board at Tuesday's meeting. Sallee said there are a couple things he’d like to see from Tulsa Transit.
"First of all, an honest attempt to try to get their current service back in play, to 30 minutes. That’s first and foremost. And then an honest effort to see if the Aero system can’t be extended to the 66th Street North area," Sallee said.
Sallee said county funding for an Aero extension could be discussed but said the county had not been asked about the bus rapid transit line.
Rieck said Tulsa Transit publicly announced last year Turley service would be ending but the agency wasn't made aware of any pushback until August.
