With 450,000 riders, OKC RAPID bus line hits 1st anniversary

-- RAPID NW outperforms any other route in the EMBARK system says executive director.

OKLAHOMA CITY — It’s already been one year since Oklahoma City’s EMBARK bus system launched the new concept RAPID NW bus line.

And, according to Executive Director Jesse Rush, the route has had more than 450,000 riders in that first year, an average of 1,500 riders per day.

rapid
EMBARK Executive Director Jesse Rush speaks in front of one of the RAPID busses celebrating 1 year of service to Oklahoma City on Dec. 4, 2024. (B.DICKERSON/Okla City Free Press)

With sheltered and platformed stations that provide increased accessibility and real-time information panels showing arrivals of the next bus, the public has shown increasing acceptance and use of the service.

“Happy first anniversary to RAPID,” said Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt in a prepared statement. “Nearly half a million riders in the first year is proof that convenient and comfortable public transit meets a need in our city. I’m excited that through MAPS 4, we’ve already approved lines to the Northeast and South. Clearly, RAPID is a service that is here to stay.”

EMBARK’s first Park and Ride lot at the end of the line at NW Expressway and N. Meridian was the site for a news conference Wednesday that featured a birthday cake and the unveiling of a commemorative plaque.

By the numbers

In addition to big ridership, Rush and Asst. City Manager Jason Ferbrache delivered some other impressive numbers for the new route:

  • Customer satisfaction is at 92%, 34% higher than the national average.
  • The project, costing $28.9 million, was funded by a $14 million federal grant and local funds.
  • The line operates with a 12-15 minute frequency, 365 days a year, and has 32 platforms.
  • This line has been so well received the City of OKC is moving forward with the next bus rapid transit line which will be 17 miles long from far south OKC through NE OKC.

City officials comment

The Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority (COTPA) is the governing body of EMBARK and related transit services forming a hybrid city department and trust that also owns and runs downtown parking facilities for the City of Oklahoma City.

Four of the trustees were present for the celebration and unveiling of the plaque:

  • Jason Ferbrache, Oklahoma City Assistant City Manager
  • Barney Semtner, COTPA Trustee & Board Chair
  • Jesse Rush, Director of EMBARK
  • Brent Bryant, Chief Financial Officer – City of Oklahoma City, COTPA Trustee
  • James Cooper, Oklahoma City Councilman, Ward 2 & COTPA Trustee

“We were extremely proud of it and proud of the people who have put what is probably EMBARK’s biggest and most expansive public transit improvement in Oklahoma City since its inception,” said COTPA Chair Barney Semtner citing the hundreds of thousands of riders served. “The hard work, intense collaboration and wavering support from everyone involved with rapid is what’s put us here today.”

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Barney Semtner, COTPA Board Chair, speaks about the significance of reaching the 1-year mark of the new RAPID NW bus rapid transit line at the Park and Ride lot on Meridian at NW Expressway on Dec. 4, 2024. (B.DICKERSON/Okla City Free Press)

Semtner cited the collaborative relationship COTPA has had with the various engineering and construction firms on a project so large and far-reaching, plus the many employees and the City Council.

Ward 2 City Councilmember James Cooper is a trustee of EMBARK and also a passionate proponent of ongoing development and improvement of public transportation in OKC. He talked to Free Press after the ceremony about the value of expanding public transportation in the city.

rapid
City officials pose in front of the new plaque at the RAPID NW Park and Ride lot at N. Meridian and NW Expressway on Dec. 4, 2024. From L-R: Jason Ferbrache, Oklahoma City Assistant City Manager; Barney Semtner, COTPA Trustee and Board Chair; Jesse Rush, Director of EMBARK; Brent Bryant, Chief Financial Officer – City of Oklahoma City and COTPA Trustee; James Cooper, Oklahoma City Councilman, Ward 2 & COTPA Trustee. (B.DICKERSON/Okla City Free Press)

“One year in means people have better access to their jobs,” said Cooper. “I mean, imagine if you lived on Classen and 50th and you worked at this Brahms here at Meridian and Expressway. How are you getting there if you don’t have a car?”

“We’ve learned from the community benefits agreement research for the Thunder Arena, the concert arena, that 21% of our workforce is retail and hospitality, and on average, you’re making $27,000 a year,” continued Cooper. “A car payment, insurance, gas to get from 50th and Classen and do your job at Braum’s at Meridian and Expressway? That starts adding up, and that’s what people mean, I think when they say the cost of living and inflation right now.”

Pleased, but not surprised

We talked with Rush after the ceremony and asked if there had been any surprises along the way in this first year.

“With Oklahoma City being so car-centric, you know, plus numbers are always great,” Rush told us. “So yeah, a little surprised, but we also know that our folks put in a lot of hard work to make this go where it needs to go and serve the customers and the population. So I wouldn’t really say it was a surprise, but it was definitely a nice addition to be able to exceed our numbers for sure.”

accessibility
A new NW Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) bus pulls up to the platform that matches the entry to the bus that has no steps inside at the end of the line near NW Expressway and N. Meridian on the first morning that the buses were taking passengers, Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023. (B.DICKERSON/Okla City Free Press)

Contest for passes and half-price sale

EMBARK tells us they are celebrating the holiday season with an enter-to-win contest and its bi-annual Half-Price Sale on all fixed-route buses, RAPID NW, and OKC Streetcar passes.

The First Anniversary Contest runs December 4 through December 18. Prizes include 365 Universal Day Passes, 12 Universal Monthly Passes, and one grand prize of a Universal Annual Pass, which grants unlimited rides on the EMBARK fixed-route bus, OKC Streetcar, and RAPID NW for an entire year. 


The Half-Price Transit Pass sale runs now through December 8. Half-price passes can be purchased through the Token Transit mobile app or at EMBARK’s Transit Center. The Transit Center is open Monday through Friday from 6 AM to 6:45 PM and will offer extended service on Saturday, December 7, from 9 AM to 3 AM.


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Founder, publisher, and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. Brett continues to contribute reports and photography to this site as he runs the business.