Norman Bus Driver Larry Bowen prepares to leave for his next route. He has been working as a bus driver in Norman for five and half years, and he says he has seen a heavy increase in commuters using public transportation during that time.

Federal Stimulus Dollars Help Public Transit

Federal stimulus dollars divided up among the states earmarked a certain amount for each state to set aside for enhancing public transportation systems, according to the Oklahoma Recovery.gov Web site, which could provide students with more effective bus, bike and railway options.

For the state of Oklahoma, $39.2 million of the $542.9 million going to transportation as a whole in the state has been allocated for public transportation, according to the Recovery.gov Web site. Of that $39.2 million, $22 million is for urban transit, and $17 million will go to rural transit, according to David Meuser, a representative for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT).

"A lot of campus kids use the bus services, but there is a lot of the city that we don't touch that could benefit from it. I think bus services ought to be expanded," said Larry Bowen, a bus driver for the Cleveland Area Rapid Transit.

Along with getting more buses and increasing frequency of routes, the city of Norman is also in favor of increasing bicycle use, and teaming up with OnTrac, an organization trying to save the Union Rail Station from destruction in order to ensure the future of commuter rails between Norman and Oklahoma City, according to Resolution R-0809-33 signed by Norman Mayor Cindy Rosenthal.

Currently CART offers three bus routes that serve campus directly, five that serve the greater Norman area, one route that travels between Oklahoma City and Norman, and a rural bus route that travels to Noble, Lexington and Little Axe, according to CART Marketing and Public Relations representative Kris Glenn.

When questioned about whether or not CART supported the OnTrac proposal to bring commuter rails to Norman, Glenn said, "CART supports all modes of public transit, but we need it to be multimodal, meaning we need an enhanced bus system in Norman and Oklahoma City so people can get where they need to go after their train stop. Right now the bus system cannot accommodate the type of passengers that would ride the rail in both cities."

Multimodal transit and enhanced bus systems were a concern for Isaiah McCaslin, the OnTrac liaison for the Norman Sustainability Network, and a member of the executive committee board for OnTrac. "There is also a lot that could be done to improve efficiency of the buses, like linear routes could be created to reduce commuter time," said McCaslin.

McCaslin is also working on bringing back the Green Bikes program, in which bicycles are available for communal use by the general public.

Stimulus funds for public transportation were divided into three pools of money, said Cody Ponder, the grants specialist and planner at CART. Oklahoma City and Tulsa received the largest sum of the $39.2 million, Norman and Lawton then received a share, and then the rural towns in the rest of the state received a share. Ponder said that Norman received $1.8 million.

The $1.8 million dollars that CART has received will be used to purchase five new compressed natural gas buses to add to the fleet, according to Ponder. This will bring Norman's total to eight compressed natural gas buses, which are safer for the environment, said Glenn.

"Last year we saw a significant climb in commuters taking the bus," said Glenn. CART transports roughly one million commuters a year.

"Increasing public transportation is very important. Oklahoma City is very close to violating the EPA's Clean Air Act. If we do that, it could cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars in the long run to meet EPA standards," said City Council member Tom Kovach, who also serves as the public relations representative for OnTrac.

It is stated in Norman Resolution R-0809-33, "Central Oklahoma exceeded the maximum allowed ozone layer 11 times [in 2006], almost twice as many times as the previous four years combined, and before the new federal standards of the Clean Air Act became law."

Kovach hopes to someday get a rail system similar to the one in Albuquerque, New Mexico. "It makes transportation easier and it accommodates buses," Kovach said.

Kovach believes that building a train system would help spur the economy too, by creating economic hubs where the train stops, and giving riders greater freedom to travel. In Dallas, the tax money that comes in from these economic centers has more than paid for the rail, said Kovach.

The Union Station Rail Yard in Oklahoma City is in danger of being destroyed to build the I-40 crosstown extension, according to the OnTrac Web site. OnTrac has created a new construction plan that moves the I-40 extension 40 yards south, and preserves the station and the Crosstown extension, said Kovach.

Destroying the Union Station Rail Yard would be very costly for tax payers to replace. The economic development that could come from investing in developing commuter rails would be better for the people who live here, said Kovach.

"The University has a large population of foreign exchange students, many of whom do not have a car. A commuter rail could also help students that travel to the OU Healthplex in Oklahoma City, or people who would like to go to Bricktown and drink, but don't want to worry about driving themselves home if they've been drinking," said Kovach.

Momentum is the biggest hindrance to OnTrac's plans, said Kovach. "This is what they [Oklahoma City City Council] have been planning for ten years. It is hard for them to stop and change gears," said Kovach.

"OnTrac just wants to save the rail station," said Kovach. "We are not opposed to the I-40 crosstown development. Having a railway will help that development."

Kovach said he does not believe any of the stimulus funds for public transportation were allotted for commuter or passenger rails in Oklahoma City. All of the funds for public transportation were given to city run organizations to be handled, and are not overseen by ODOT, said David Meuser of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Funds for Norman are being handled by CART services, said Meuser.

People interested in supporting OnTrac can start by signing the petition to keep the Union Station Rail Yard at their Web site, or by writing letters to members of the Oklahoma City City Council. "One of the most important parts of our job is to involve the public, we would love to hear from anybody with an interest in this," said Kris Glenn of CART Services. Learn more about CART at www.ridecart.com or by calling 405-325-7490.



Listen to an interview with CART Marketing and Public Relations representative Kris Glenn.