The Association of Central Oklahoma Governments (ACOG), along with additional regional stakeholders, are conducting a Long Range Transit Plan (LRTP) for Central Oklahoma. The plan will consider modifications to local transit services [operated by EMBARK, EMBARK Norman (City of Norman), and Edmond Citylink] in response to planned high-capacity regional transit investments.

The LRTP will also consider additional investments to facilities, transfer points, and transit infrastructure to improve regional mobility and consolidate previous planning efforts. The outcome of the LRTP will be an implementation plan for transit in the region that will seek to achieve the following vision statement:

To support the visions statement, potential transit investments identified through the LRTP will be evaluated through the following goals:

High-capacity transit includes any form of public transit that travels in its own lane or right-of-way for at least a portion of its route, has transit priority (traffic signals designed to turn green when transit vehicles approach), or has both of these features to make it as congestion-proof as possible. High-capacity transit vehicles make fewer stops, travel at higher speeds, have more frequent service, and carry more people than local service transit such as typical city buses. Types of high-capacity transit services include bus rapid transit (BRT), light rail transit (LRT), and commuter rail.

In addition to EMBARK’s RAPID Northwest, high-capacity transit services are being planned in Central Oklahoma by the RTA and MAPS 4.

Enhancing the Rider Experience

The LRTP will not only plan for increased connectivity to the high-capacity network, but will directly improve the rider experience by:

• Identifying improvements and rider amenities as passenger facilities

• Facilitating more opportunities for cross-regional connections

• Studying enhancements through increased frequencies and/or expanded coverage

• Exploring technology solutions to enable seamless transit trips