Service along a Peoria Avenue bus rapid transit route in Tulsa is scheduled to begin in early 2021, but Tulsa Transit Interim General Manager Debbie Ruggles said with the right moves, it could start sooner.
"We have discussed some options for how to make that happen so that we could roll out BRT on the Peoria line in January — or perhaps February — but in that timeframe of 2019," Ruggles said.
Starting BRT service two years sooner could involve delaying other projects. A decision must be made soon.
"Bus deliver takes about 20 months right now is what we're hearing, so if we are to start January of 2019, we're going to have to get our buses ordered this spring," Ruggles said.
Tulsa Transit could also expand the route by moving the 38th Street North end of the line farther north.
"The city limits is at 56th Street North, and the Warehouse Market, which, to my knowledge, is the only full grocery store in north Tulsa at this point, is at 66th," Ruggles said.
City of Tulsa funding wouldn’t be available for service past the city limits, so Tulsa Transit would need a different source to pay for a northern route extension.
