OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City’s streetcar system debuted on Friday, offering free rides for its first three weeks.
The streetcars will serve two overlapping loops, one of 4.8 miles downtown that will offer service six days a week, and one of 2 miles serving the Bricktown entertainment and nightlife districts on Fridays and Saturdays. [See “Oklahoma City to receive last streetcar; prepares for start of service,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 13, 2018.]
Transit officials estimated 10,000 to 15,000 people would try the service during the opening weekend, which came after 22 months of construction.
The system uses seven brightly colored Brookville Equipment Liberty streetcars. The Oklahoman reports that, in a nod to Christmas, the red and green cars offered the first rides.
After the free introductory period, tickets will cost $1 per ride or $3 for an all-day pass.
One never knows when public transport will come in handy. My wife is going through a medication change that prevents her from driving for three months while the change settles in. With minimal public transit options available in our metro area of ~75 000, I’m in chauffeur mode until March–glad to do it, of course, but more options sure would help.
A historical note in a local paper showed people saying “goodbye and good riddance” when the old streetcar tracks were pulled up in the 1930s or 40s.
We are seeing the renaissance of the streetcar in North America. Hopefully this trend will continue.
I like my go-buggy as much as anyone else likes his. However the indirect cost of these things is far to high for us to depend solely on them. Streetcar systems are much cleaner.
The above comments are general in nature and do not form the basis for an attorney/client relationship. They do not constitute legal advice. I am not your attorney. Find your own damn lawyer.
Houston has about 23 miles of light rail in a city of 667 square miles. I had not driven since April 2018 when I took ill. And, an Über or Lyft costs upwards of $28.00 round trip from my neighbourhood to Downtown and the Texas Medical Center round trip.
It was not smart of TexDOT to remove the former Katy rail line that would have been critical for commuter rail between Katy and Downtown Houston with one of the key stops in the Memorial City district. The parallel Katy Freeway (I-10) is now wider, encompassing the former MKT right-of-way, and now gridlocked more than ever.