© 2024 Public Radio Tulsa
800 South Tucker Drive
Tulsa, OK 74104
(918) 631-2577

A listener-supported service of The University of Tulsa
classical 88.7 | public radio 89.5
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Tulsa Transit Aims to Launch Job Shuttle Next Month to US 169 Corridor

Matt Trotter
/
KWGS

Tulsa Transit is moving forward on a job shuttle for the U.S. 169 corridor.

The transit board approved an agenda item for it at a meeting Tuesday.

The shuttle will connect north Tulsa with the area north of I-244, where Amazon recently opened a distribution center and kitchen ventilation manufacturer Greenheck recently opened a plant. Tulsa Transit General Manager Ted Rieck hopes to launch it by mid-September.

"One of our goals as an agency is to be part of the economic development discussion, whether it’s Tesla, Amazon or whatever. So, I’m eager to do this to show that we can contribute to getting people to work. We’re not just a social service agency. We actually figure into the calculus," Rieck said.

The job shuttle will run an estimated $300,000 a year to operate, initially supported by federal coronavirus relief funds. A little more than 60% of that will go to a contractor, Pelivan, which will provide what’s referred to as first and last mile service.

"Pelivan would take people off our bus and, on demand, take those individuals to where they want to go. As you can imagine, this area’s pretty low density, and it would be very inefficient to run our fixed-route business to business," Rieck said.

The shuttle would likely make two morning and two evening trips around standard shift times.

The only holdup may be the name of the service. A marketing firm proposed branding it Trek, which is also the name of a well-known bicycle maker.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.
Related Content