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Tulsa Transit Claims 50,000 Aero Riders During Month-Long Test Run

Matt Trotter
/
KWGS

The "beta test" of Tulsa’s Aero bus rapid transit service is over.

Tulsa Transit and the City of Tulsa officially launched Aero on Thursday with a ribbon cutting in front of McLain High School. Tulsa Transit Board Chair Emily Hutton said Aero is proving popular.

"During this first month, we’ve had 50,000 riders on the Aero. Think about that — 50,000 riders. Many of these riders have never ridden Tulsa Transit before," Hutton said.

Aero runs along Peoria Avenue from 54th Street North to 81st Street South with buses every 15 minutes on weekdays, 20 minutes on Saturdays and 30 minutes on Sundays. The BRT service was free to ride during the first month.

"We are going to extend that through Jan. 2, because we want to continue this approach where anybody who wants to try out this system feels like they can do it at no cost to themselves," said Mayor G.T. Bynum.

With Aero’s official launch, enhanced stations have power and information displays are working. City Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper said the service is more than a way for people to get around.

"Tulsa Transit’s BRT will play a vital role in connecting people to their jobs and schools, and businesses to their customers. That’s going to spark economic development for our community and our city," Hall-Harper said.

Bynum said other U.S. cities are interested in planning BRT service based on Aero. The city is starting to plan for a second line along Route 66.

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.