Obviously some other entity should operate it..but it would end up being MetroTransit no matter what, either directly or indirectly. Maybe MetroTransit isn’t so much to blame for the simple fact that when what you primarily do is run buses in a city like OKC you’re bound for failure, let alone the fact that their funding is probably a joke. Maybe a more promising mission will offer them their first realistic shot at success.

I have not been pleased overall. While I don’t always have a problem, it seems all too often that I have to wait 30 minutes for a trolley to come by. Sometimes when out and about in Bricktown I will see two trolleys traveling back to back. It just seems very inefficient.

However, maybe a fixed rail system with a fixed schedule (posted at each stop and online) will be just fine for them. I don’t know. It would be nice to see, for example, posted departures from X stop at 4:45, 4:55, 5:05, 5:15, and 5:30, and then actually see departures at 4:45, 4:55, 5:05, 5:15, and 5:30 (I know… novel idea…). Maybe MetroTransit would be better able to do this with fixed rail rather than rubber tire trolleys?

I also do not want to see the system open to a frequent schedule, and then they quickly reduce the schedule. The system needs to have frequent runs until at least 11:00pm on weekdays and midnight on weekends.

Disapprove. Several stories about visitors waiting 30 minutes or more in Bricktown is all I need to hear to know this is being terribly mismanaged. Sure, it’s probably a challenging task, but we can’t afford to make such a horrible impression on visitors. Not to mention locals who would like a dependable ride. I hope the city will provide better oversight and more stringent requirements for the new system.

Disapprove, it’s time for a Regional Transit Authority to be established. Hire some folks from citie with real transit that have learned from mistakes in other cities. This should be the first MAPS project to get underway IMO and will provide the best and most immediate success.

I worked in Bricktown over the last two summers, and from what I heard from visitors, the trolleys were run much better this year than they were last year. However, the times that they are open and times that they depart from each stop are not clearly posted.

With a fixed railcar that has control over traffic lights, we could have exact departure times and place digital boards at all of the platforms saying “X minutes to next streetcar.” Rail-based transit is far more manageable when it comes to timing and reliability. So sure, MetroTransit can operate it. Problems with the Spirit Trolleys were likely a combination of management error and simple shortcomings of rubber-tire transit.

I do not approve of how metro transit has managed the trolley system. They are scarce, unreliable and not sufficiently maintained. Moreover, they are not promoted or advertised (that I know of). Don’t forget, this was part of the original MAPS. We paid to buy the trolleys but not maintain or “care and feed” for them. Not surprisingly, they have died on the vine. It seems to me an effective trolley system could at a MIMINUM hold us over until/if street cars arrive. The failure of the trolley system is an ominous sign for the potential success of the proposed street cars.

Steve: A bad cold this time of year is called swine flu.

I plan on commenting on this here in a bit as I have used more public transit than most people I know (using it as my sole mode of transportaion in Madrid) but right now I’m on a deadline…

James, I got tested and there’s no swine to be found. Thanks for your concern!

That’s good because we definitely wouldn’t want to catch it from reading your columns…

My views on the Spirit Trolley’s and Maps 3 transit. Feel better, Steve! http://caseycornett.blogspot.com/

The Regiobal Transit Dialogue process is in gear to proceed towards a Regional Transit Authority. Such an agency could run the new proposed streetcar and commuter rail system.

In Portland, the streetcar system is operated by a non-profit started by the city. Such opportunities lie here. Even DOKC is a possibility.

A new system using “smart” traffic lights, GPS, and a fixed route should create consistency in service. The sweet spot is between 5 and 8 minute intervals depending on the time of day. Such as system could go to a reduced route from 11 PM to 2 AM to handle Bricktown and residential distribution.

Regional- lol. The I-phone has small “keys”.

I would LOVE having DTOKC run the streetcar system. They would do a great job.

Disapprove totally. I believe Metro Transit needs more than just a flushing-out, and more than a makeover. It needs a total overhaul, beginning with the Administration and its bus routes.

Once, while hosting some guests, and taking the trolley from I-40/Meridian to Bricktown, I watched as the driver was texting as he drove SW 15th to Cattlemen’s. Of course, we waited 45 minutes for the trolley to show up. The frequency must be improved, as well as the reliability. And we need employees who don’t text while driving.

I want the bus system to go to a grid system. One should not have to go from Baptist Hospital to Mercy Hospital by connecting Downtown.

Your great article “Running on a Downtown trolley Would be Nice” (6/10/08) summed everything up

http://newsok.com/riding-on-a-downtown-trolley-would-be-nice/article/3255197/?tm=1213065144

in addition…

Trusting them to run the streetcar system any better than the trolley or bus system makes about as much sense as saying Medicare/Medicaid are causing the deficit, so we need to expand them.