$1 streetcar fare recommended

Streetcar service begins in a year

A $1 fare is being recommended for a one-hour pass to ride the Oklahoma City streetcar.

A single-day streetcar pass would cost $3 and the charge for a monthly pass would be $32.

The Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority board received a consultant's recommendations on transit fares Friday.

Plans are to review the recommendations and make a decision in early 2018. Streetcar service is to begin a year from now.

The MAPS 3 streetcar will run through downtown, north to NW 11 street in Midtown and south to Chesapeake Energy Arena on the Oklahoma City Boulevard.

Streetcars will pass through the BNSF Railway viaduct on Sheridan and Reno avenues, looping around the Dodgers' ballpark as they pass through Bricktown. The main line will run daily from Midtown through the central business district and Bricktown.

A shorter loop will run between Bricktown and the arena, on a limited schedule. The arena stop at the Oklahoma City Boulevard and S Robinson Avenue will serve the MAPS 3 convention center and park, and the convention center hotel. Streetcar passes would be available from ticket vending machines or on mobile phones.

By comparison, the consultants' report said Cincinnati charges $1 for a two-hour pass. Detroit charges $1.50 for a threehour pass.

Riders in Portland get two-and-a-half hours for $2. Single rides vary from $1 in Atlanta to $1.50 in Tucson, $2.25 in Seattle and $2.50 in Tampa.

The consultants recommended maintaining the single-ride bus fare in Oklahoma City at $1.75, while raising the prices of single-day, seven-day and 30-day passes. Proposed were:

• Increasing the singleday pass from $4 to $5.

• Increasing the sevenday pass from $14 to $16.

• Increasing the 30-day pass from $50 to $56.

A daily bus commuter riding to and from work five days per week and buying single-ride tickets currently pays $17.50 per week, so a seven-day pass represents a savings of $3.50.

Savings would drop to $1.50 with the recommended changes.

However, Oklahoma City does not provide transfers, so a commuter who buys single rides and must change buses once in the morning and once in the evening pays $35 per week.

In that case, a seven-day pass represents a savings of $21 currently and $19 if the recommended increases are adopted.