Tulsa's mass transit system is getting a facelift.
On Friday, the Metropolitan Tulsa Transit Authority (MTTA) board held a special meeting and voted to rebrand the system as "MetroLink."
Scott Marr, MTTA's general manager, said the new look is a much needed upgrade.
"I'm excited for our community, I'm excited for our employees," Marr said. "We've been Tulsa Transit since 1980. It was time to move on."
Marr and the Tulsa Transit board said the rollout of the new branding will be spread over 12 months.
Consulting firm Propeller was hired to spearhead the rebranding.
Marr has been Tulsa Transit general manager since February of 2022 and says the process to rebrand began before his arrival.
"It's taken us a while," he said, "almost two years to get this going."
A slideshow presented to the board detailed what some of the busses and stops would look like with the new logo.
Marr said the cost of the rebranding isn't fully cemented yet. The biggest cost shown in the slideshow, replacing existing bus stops, was estimated at $400,000 dollars. However, Marr said the MTTA would be seeking a grant for that item and that the transit authority would look for lower-cost options wherever possible.
Other cost estimates included over $115,000 in new vehicle decals and $75,000 in merchandise.
Ridership climbing
MTTA officials say ridership has continued to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ridership along fixed bus routes continues to climb after the pandemic drop, while the MTTA's Micro Transit, a quasi-rideshare option, has climbed significantly in just the past several months.
According to MTTA data, Micro Transit ridership has risen from over 1,100 customers in April to just over 5,600 in November.
