The "T"..Idea for Entertainment based mass transit

[jtcrissup]

I hope someone out there (Tulsa Transit, or Private Sector) can take this idea and run with it.  I would be willing to help (I am not with City of Tulsa or Urban Trolley, just a guy who came back to Tulsa from Austin and sees major potential to connect these areas of town that are all walkable in their own right, but not close enough to each other to give a feeling of connection).

I envision a route that connects Brady&Main (Brady District) to 2nd and Detroit/Cincinnati (Blue Dome District)-to 18th and Boston via Cincinnati overpass(South Boston District)-to 15th and Quincy (Cherry St District)- to 21st and Utica (Utica Square)- to 36th through 31st and Peoria (Brookside) and back.  The mode of transportation would be street based (ie rubber tire) Trolley buses (which I am calling "The T").  I like the name "The T" because it identifies both with Tulsa (aka T-Town) and the historical significance of the Trolley's that used to run from downtown to as far as Swan Lake (used to be known as Orcutt Amusement Park, or something).  Plus it sounds cool, like "The L" in Chicago.

Some initial ideas:
-Schedules could be worked out so that a T would come by each stop at least once every 10 minutes (I think this could be done with 3 or 4 Trolleys).  I think a partnership can be formed (temporarily) with the private sector (Urban Trolley, or someone else who might buy trolley's to rent out for special events) and Tulsa Transit to "lease" the trolley's for a pilot period (6 months to a year) to "prove" it will be used and valued by people who frequent these districts.  

-I think this could cut down on Drunk driving (Yellow Cab could also supply "pick ups" at T Stops to encourage those too drunk to ride vs drive).  Maybe even give some sort of discount like "first $5 of the cab fare is free if you ride the T".  

-T passes could be sold as either one time (~$1), monthly (~$20 unlimited rides for 1 calendar month), or annual (~$100 unlimited rides for 1 calendar year) passes.  I don't know how the economics would pan out, but if 1000 people bought a year pass (which seems like a paltry number considering how many people frequent these districts), that would be $100,000 of revenue to run the program for a year.  The monthly and one time passes would be gravy to keep things running smoothly.

-Businesses along the route (who would benefit from the extra mobility of their clientel to/from different parts of town) could also offer promotional discounts like "Ride the T, Cover is Free".  

-With the T being rubber tired trolleys (versus on a rail line) the routes could be adjusted according to demand over time (ie if NO ONE ever gets on/off at Utica Square, take it off the route, or add downtown hotels/BOK Center during big events, etc).  Plus, if someone lives nearby the route, they could pull the cord and the trolley driver could drop them off at the next convenient cross road.

-Hopefully this would take off and Tulsa Transit could expand the service to other parts of town (TU, Riverwalk, South Tulsa, etc).

Bottom line to all of this, I think it could probably be done with little/no extra money burden on the tax payer.  Tulsa Transit already has the infrastructure in place to sell bus passes at QT...they already have bus drivers on staff who could either make a little OT or juggle their schedules during the rest of the week...T passes could be sold separately (or bundled somehow with the bus pass...I prefer to keep it separate until the program "proves" itself).  

TPD could help keep an eye on things by having a plain clothes police officer or two that ride along (randomly, so you never know if a cop is on board or not) and make sure things don't get out of hand late at night.  This may save money on cop cars while also putting cops on the streets in these districts, which is where we need them.

Thoughts?  Has something like this been thought of and shot down by Tulsa Transit?  Is there someone I can talk to/prod along to get things going here?  Maybe TyPros or YP Tulsa have already pursued something to this effect?

Thanks for any input
JTC