BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — The City of Broken Arrow came together to create a tool, The Microtransit Pilot Program, to help those who lack reliable and affordable transportation.
Amanda Yamaguchi, planning and development manager for the City, explained what this program will do for Broken Arrow.
“We’re partnering with Tulsa Transit so what you’ll do is go on the Tulsa Transit app. You can request a ride up to an hour ahead of time, so you’ll tell them, ‘I’m at this address and I would like to go here,’ and that car would come to you, hop in the car, drop you off where you need to go,” said Yamaguchi. “If you need a ride home, you would just order another ride and they’ll take you back home.”
The transit program will cover around 17 square miles with a connection point at Saint Francis South.
The cost for a three-hour ticket is $1.75 and there are senior, Veteran, and children discounts.
“Buses aren’t always at the time that you need them,” said Yamaguchi. “The stops may be at an inconvenient location or maybe there’s a mobility issue where actually getting to the bus stop may be a challenge. So this just provides other opportunities for our citizens.”
With this sustainable option. Broken Arrow City Planner Henry Bibelheimer hopes that they can expand on the program even more.
“We would love to incorporate earlier in the morning to a little bit of evening hours as well as some weekends to kind of expand the ridership a little bit,” said Bibelheimer. “We can’t do that or justify that until we actually get the riders. So really hoping with this launch, everyone will see the flexibility and how well this can incorporate into their daily lives.”
Broken Arrow Transit will be available on March 18 when customers can go through and book their trip on the app, ‘Go Pass’, which is available on Apple and Android devices.