| EMBARK | |
| Parent: | Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority |
| Founded: | 1966 (from 1992 as Metro Transit, from 2014 as EMBARK) |
| Headquarters: | 2000 S. May Ave, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Locale: | Oklahoma City |
| Service Area: | Oklahoma City metropolitan area |
| Service Type: | Transit bus, Paratransit, trolley, tram |
| Hubs: | 2 |
| Stations: | 1 |
| Fleet: | 71 (2024) |
| Ridership: | |
| Annual Ridership: | |
| Fuel Type: | Diesel, Hybrid, CNG, Electric |
| Ceo: | Jason Ferbrache |
Embark (styled all caps as EMBARK) is the public transit agency of the COTPA (Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority) trust, the largest transit agency in the state of Oklahoma. Embark has 20 interconnecting bus routes covering the city of Oklahoma City and parts of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area, including weekday Express service from Norman to Downtown Oklahoma City. Embark also operates paratransit, the Oklahoma City Streetcar, downtown public parking, bike share, and river ferry services. Additionally, Embark provides administrative and executive support for the Regional Transportation Authority of Central Oklahoma.[1]
In, the system had a ridership of, or about per weekday as of .
The Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority was established on February 1, 1966, by the Oklahoma City Council to continue transit service as private operator Oklahoma Transportation Company, which provided bus service to the community, as City Bus Company, had announced it would discontinue transit service due to low ridership. There were initially only 18 buses, all leased from the Oklahoma Transportation Company (OTC).[2]
The system was rebranded as MassTrans in 1975[2] and used that name until 1992, when it was rebranded as Metro Transit,[3] though the official name remains in use as well.
COTPA was reorganized in 1989, when the city established a Transit Services division to provide senior management through an inter-local operating agreement. COTPA also purchased the historic Union Station in Downtown Oklahoma City, which served as an administrative office until 2022.[2]
Embark previously operated "Oklahoma Spirit Trolleys", a trolley-replica bus network from 1999 to 2020.[4]
Oklahoma City's downtown transit center at N.W. 4th St. and Hudson Ave. opened to customers in 2004 after the previous transit hub was demolished to make way for construction of the Paycom Center.[5]
In September 2013, it was announced that Metro Transit would change its name to Embark, effective April 28, 2014, and include a new bus route system.
On October 15, 2015, Embark announced that it would begin offering free Wi-Fi on all buses, on all routes.[6] [7]
In August 2016, Embark received the award for "North America's Outstanding Public Transportation System" by the American Public Transportation Association for systems providing fewer than 4 million annual passenger trips.[8]
In December 2018, Embark began operation of Oklahoma City Streetcar, the state's only modern streetcar system, which services a nearly five-mile route in the urban core.[9]
On January 27, 2019, Sunday bus service was implemented for the first time in Oklahoma City public transportation history, utilizing the same operational routes and schedules as maintained on Saturdays. On Monday, September 2, 2019 (Labor Day), Embark buses began operating on all major holidays, resulting in the area's public transportation service operating 365 days a year for the first time; the authority utilizes the same schedule and active routes used on weekends during major holidays.
In 2022, Embark broke ground on construction of RAPID NW, Oklahoma City's first Bus Rapid Transit route.[10] Service opened on December 3, 2023.
No fare to riders 18 and under with EMBARK's Haul Pass Program. Eligible riders can fill out an application for Haul Pass.
EMBARK offers Reduced Fare for persons 65 and older, persons on Medicare and persons with a qualifying disability. They are also known as Special Patrons.
All buses have driver shields to minimize interaction.
Regular: $1.75 – Special Patron: $0.75
Regular: $3 – Special Patron: $1.50One express route serves Norman on Monday through Friday only. Service in the City of Edmond will no longer be provided by Embark effective June 30, 2009. The City of Edmond's new Citylink service began July 1, 2009. Citylink comes to the EMBARK Transit Center twice daily during the week at 7:50am and 4:50pm.
Regular: $3 – Special Patron: $1.50
All passes are universal and can be used for both local, express, streetcar, and RAPID NW.
Annual Pass – Regular: $600 – Special Patron - $300
30-Day Pass – Regular: $50 – Special Patron: $25
24-Hour Pass – Regular: $4 – Special Patron: $2
7-Day Pass – Regular: $14 – Special Patron: $7
Embark currently operates fixed-route bus service in Oklahoma City and bus routes in Norman that were previously operated by Cleveland Area Rapid Transit, along with an express route between Norman and Downtown Oklahoma City.
The Embark Norman Transfer Station is currently located on Brooks Street, just east of Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on the University of Oklahoma campus. A new transit center in downtown Norman is currently under construction by the City of Norman.[12] [13]
An unusual aspect of Embark was the Link program, which is a combination of owl service and paratransit service. Since regularly scheduled routes operate only until about 8pm local time, and not at all Sundays, Link provides nominally fixed route service from 7 pm until 12 midnight Monday through Saturday, and Sunday from 7 am until 7 pm. The four routes may however, deviate by as much as three-quarters of a mile from the fixed route if the customer notifies Embark by 4 pm the day before (or by 12 noon Saturday for Monday service). An additional fee will be charged in that instance, but customers using the fixed stops will be charged the normal fare.The Link was discontinued in April 2014 as Embark began extending hours on 5 routes (see below), as well as adding Sunday and holiday service on most bus routes in 2019.
As of early 2024, the Embark OKC fleet consists of 71 buses: 62 fixed-route buses and nine RAPID BRT buses. The fleet consists of 58% CNG buses, 37% diesel buses, 2% hybrid buses and 3% electric buses, with a goal to become 100% alternative-fueled fleet by 2025. The fleet has an average age of 7.7 years (revenue), with an average of 367,386 lifetime miles per vehicle.[14] Much of the current Embark fleet can be referenced in the table below.
| Fleet number(s) | Photo | Model Year | Manufacturer | Model | Powertrain | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0901-0913 | 2009 | Gillig | Low Floor 35' |
| |||
| 0914-0915 | 2009 | Gillig | Low Floor 40' Suburban |
| |||
| 1101-1107 | 2011 | Gillig | Low Floor 35' | ||||
| 1180-1181 | 2011 | New Flyer | C40LFR | ||||
| 1200 | 2012 (built in 2011) | Nova Bus | LFS HEV |
| |||
| 1301-1306 | 2012 | Gillig | Low Floor 29' | ||||
| 1307-1310 | 2012 | Gillig | Low Floor 35' | ||||
| 1311-1312 | 2013 | Gillig | Low Floor 40' | ||||
| 1313-1316 | 2014 | Gillig | Low Floor 40' | ||||
| 1601-1606 | 2016 | New Flyer | XN40 | ||||
| 1701-1711 | 2017 | New Flyer | XN40 | ||||
| 2000 | 2020 | New Flyer | XE35 |
| |||
| 2002-2003 | 2020 | New Flyer | XN40 | ||||
| 2102-2109 | 2021 | New Flyer | XN40 | ||||
| 2200 | 2022 | New Flyer | XE40 | ||||
| 2201-2207 | 2022 | New Flyer | XN40 | ||||
| 2220-2228 | 2022 | New Flyer | XN40 |