Taylor Johnson, transit and parking program manager in Public Works, told the Community Planning and Transportation (CPT) Committee on Oct. 23 that overall fixed-route ridership for September was 47,643, up from 44,679 the prior September, and that staff are wrapping up vehicle procurement and pursuing a TSET grant for a senior-focused pilot program.

Johnson said the city recently received council authorization to purchase three large buses under a Washington state contract and that those three will be the final large-bus replacements the system needs. "We appreciate council approving, acceptance of grant funds, moving some monies around and then the authorization to purchase of 3 large busses last Tuesday," Johnson said.

The transit manager updated the committee on several planning and service items. He said the Central Oklahoma Long Range Transit Plan is heading to ACOG for anticipated adoption in November and that staff will work with ACOG staff next year on an implementation or action plan. He also noted the Norman Transit Center parking-lot project had a final walkthrough and is complete.

Why it matters: the system's near-term capital purchases and grant applications affect service stability and options for future service expansions. Johnson emphasized the recent bus purchases will extend the fleet's useful life and that the long‑range plan will guide coordination at a regional level.

Ridership, on-demand service and fares
Johnson said fixed-route weekday service still performs well by industry measures — "ridership per service hour for fixed route, weekday, it's still 22 over 20," — and that some routes are seeing double-digit gains year over year while a few (Main Street 110 and East Lindsay 111) were slightly down. He told the committee that Saturday Main Street service increased 35 percent in the reporting period.

On Norman on-demand service, Johnson reported 2,963 rides in September 2025 compared with 4,760 in September 2024. He attributed part of the reduction to a fare increase (from $2 to $3) and removal of the six free introductory rides that were previously available. "Via hinted that they think there might be some fraud at people just creating emails to get free rides," he said; staff removed the continuous promo because the program is now in its third year and the agency is monitoring cost and service-level tradeoffs.

Johnson also said signups for the on-demand service continue to grow — accounts rose from about 8,100 last September to roughly 13,800 this year — and about one-third of accounts have completed more than five rides.

Service priorities and next steps
Johnson reviewed the long-range plan priorities: Sunday service (initially implemented via microtransit), conversion of some hourly routes to 30‑minute service (West Lindsay/Route 112 accomplished last year), and increasing frequency on Route 110 next. He said the next operational step — adding buses to reduce headways on Route 110 — is feasible but requires an assessment of fleet capacity and driver/contract costs and that staff can provide a cost breakdown if council requests it.

TSET grant for senior-focused pilot
Johnson said staff plan to pursue the physical‑activity portion of the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) grant to launch an "Embark Well" senior‑focused pilot. "It's a 100%, which is great," he said. He told the committee staff will bring a grant resolution to the council so the city can submit the application ahead of a November 18 deadline.

What the committee decided
No formal vote occurred in the committee on transit items at this meeting. Staff recorded the committee discussion and said they would return with more detailed cost estimates for service-frequency changes if council requested them and would bring the TSET grant resolution to council in time for the grant deadline.

Ending
Staff indicated they will continue to monitor ridership, evaluate microtransit versus fixed‑route tradeoffs for Sunday service and return with implementation cost estimates and the formal grant resolution for council action.