Four rapid bus transit routes, much nicer bus stops and buses, more evening service — a transit task force says Tulsa can have all that and more for a two-tenths of a penny sales tax.
The task force’s top recommendation for funding implementation of a 10-year public transit plan at more than $14 million a year is a dedicated sales tax. Co-chair and former Mayor Rodger Randle said he knows the city is balancing a lot of competing funding interests these days, but this should be a priority.
"Making the transit system something that's an option for everybody and not just those that really haven't got an option, that's important for us today in Tulsa, and it's certainly important for the future of Tulsa," Randle said.
The city hasn’t yet responded to the transit recommendation. The task force was established by Mayor Dewey Bartlett and the city council in 2013.
The public transit plan the task force wants implemented was written in 2011. Randle said a better system will get more use and generate greater side benefits.
"The more people that are on the street, the less crime there's going to be on the street," Randle said. "The more people that are walking, the friendlier neighborhoods become."
Backup recommendations are a one-tenth sales tax to fund a first phase of the plan or creating a utility fee to complement a one-tenth sales tax.
"Phasing in the recommendation still allows us to start the process of making public transit in Tulsa more available and more of a genuine option for everyone," Randle said.
The first phase includes capital and operations for two rapid bus routes, a circulator between downtown and the Gathering Place, and 30-minute frequency on all weekday routes.
