EMBARK Is Riding On The Success Of New RAPID Bus Line

EMBARK is riding on the success of its newest public transit option, RAPID Northwest. The BRT or RAPID line launched on December 3.

Since that time, the line has logged over 55,000 passenger trips. “It's a nice ride,” said EMBARK Director Jason Ferbrache. “We continue to see good ridership on this line, a lot of that is because of the frequency every 12 minutes during peak makes the service very, very easy to use.”

According to EMBARK, daily ridership during the first month was higher on weekdays than on weekends. The RAPID NW line runs from downtown Oklahoma City to Classen Boulevard, NW Expressway, Meridian and then back again. “They're a lot faster,” rider Stephen Sanders said.

Sanders says he has no car and depends on the bus to get him around the city. “It goes further,” Sanders said. “I’ve never been over to the mall on these buses they never went out that way.”

Tonya Johnson just moved to Oklahoma. “I kind of jump on here and learn places I haven't been to, so it works out pretty good for me,” Johnson said.

With fewer stops than a typical city bus, the RAPID NW has seven buses operating and stopping every 12 minutes during peak times. After 7 pm, the time is 30 minutes and 15 minutes on weekends. “I mean quick no matter where you get off and you're waiting on the bus it comes just like that,” Johnson said.

News 9's Deanne Stein sat with Derek Smith, and this was his first trip on the bus. “I think it’s nice, it's convenient, comfortable, just don't fall asleep,” he said.

Other riders agree and love the comfortable accommodations, including spacious, reclining, high-back seats, soothing LED lighting, and phone charging ports above the seats. “People who haven't been connected to transit before because they might live in far NW Oklahoma City now have a park and ride that they can take advantage of and use this service to get downtown,” Ferbrache said.

Now, through MAPS 4, the city plans to add two more RAPID lines to go even further. “The two additional routes will serve all our customers and visitors in northeast Oklahoma City and then we want to also look at a route serving south Oklahoma City so we're really building a dynamic network here of high-frequency transit,” said Ferbrache.

If you would like to weigh in on the new lines and where they stop, take the survey online here: Social Pinpoint (engagekh.com)