A community advocate and former Embark planning director told trustees that riders on Routes 15 and 19, which serve Midwest City, Spencer and parts of Oklahoma City, face long and inconsistent headways and urged a four-way discussion among Embark, Midwest City, Oklahoma County and other partners to seek improvements.

Larry Hopper, speaking for the Alliance for Public Transportation (APT), said he and APT board members had ridden Route 15 and found that it operates about every 80 minutes and that Route 19 operates hourly but contains a three- to four-hour midday gap. Hopper said those headways fall short of Embark's more typical half-hour standard on many routes and that riders are "suffering" under the current patterns; he called the issue one of the top topics APT is pursuing.

Hopper asked that Embark staff participate in APT's planning meetings so the nonprofit, Embark, Midwest City and Oklahoma County can discuss route-combination ideas and potential pilot changes that could increase frequency where funding or bus availability permits. He noted the OKC Moves plan recommends combining the two routes and that combining them could allow a second bus to double frequency for some or all of the day as a pilot.

Hopper also described difficulties getting staff to attend prior APT work-group meetings and asked Embark to send staff to an upcoming Monday meeting to present internal thinking about route futures and funding. Trustee Chairman and Director Jesse acknowledged Hopper's remarks and said the agency looked "forward to communication." No formal board action was taken; the item was placed in "residents to be heard" and recorded as public comment.