Embark Norman meeting some transit needs, leaving others in limbo, riders say

Jul. 18—Editor's note: This is the second in a multi-part series about accessibility issues with Norman's transportation options. This story includes first-person perspective from the reporter.

Residents with disabilities raised issues about Norman's accessible transportation options — including the city's public transit system, Embark — during June's Community Planning and Transportation Committee.

At the meeting, John High, member of OK ADAPT and Progressive Independence and a regular Embark rider for both the fixed route and paratransit option, said there's not an abundance of literature on the fixed-route bus to help new riders.

"I still do not see any flyers that help people know what time the buses stop and where they go," he said. "The city and Embark say they put them on there. Well, they must only put one on there, because you can never find any."

High said he knows someone who had to walk nearly a mile in the Oklahoma heat because they had trouble navigating the fixed-route system.

"She was going to the hospital, and she had to walk all the way to the hospital from Target," he said. "The hospital felt so bad about it that they paid for an Uber to take her home. They said when she came in, she looked like was suffering from heat exhaustion from walking. There was no communication on where the buses were stopping."

That issue could have been due to the distance between bus stops, but in addressing that distance comes with a different set of problems.

Norman Public Transit Coordinator Taylor Johnson said a lot of consideration is given to the desired origins and destinations of riders, and the distance between stops is flexible.

"We ultimately want to get people to and from where they need to go," he said. "However, as stops get closer together, you can imagine the timing of the route becomes an issue if you are trying to keep it within a set window (i.e., 30 minute or 60 minute route). Our rule of thumb is to locate bus stops around one-quarter mile apart if needed."

High said when he contacted Embark, they told him that he could access the EMBARK Norman Service Schedule booklet online. Embark Norman buses do not have Wi-Fi on them.

"If you don't have Wi-Fi or data on your phone, you can't look it up," he said. "There's no way for you to find out where the bus is going, or anything like that."

The city is currently reviewing the cost of an onboard WiFi system and its ongoing operational costs, Johnson said. However, there is not a definite timetable on when that could be implemented.

EMBARK Public Information Officer Michael Scroggins said Embark produces the booklets as they are needed, so if there's a desire for them, they can have them on buses within a couple of days.

He also urged people to call the customer service line at 405-235-RIDE (7433) so customers can request to have booklets physically mailed or get a PDF version via email.

"There are several ways that we can make sure that they're taken care of," he said. "Also, our customer service line is available to help them with any trip planning that they might have or even like to check where the buses are at."

What do regular riders think?On Thursday, I had the opportunity to ride an Embark fixed-route bus. I was impressed with the cleanliness of the bus and the friendly bus driver.

After being picked up outside the old central library, we headed west, eventually stopping outside Norman High School, where I met an 80-year-old Norman resident who asked the Transcript not to print her name.

She said she has been a daily rider since 2004, dating back to when the University of Oklahoma operated Cleveland Area Rapid Transit (CART). The university notified the city in August 2018 that it could no longer run the system.

"It's a really great way for me to get around," she said. "I'm just delighted that we have this in Norman. There is a lot of places in Oklahoma that do not have public transportation like this."

She did have one suggestion, which is to make the Main Street and E. Alameda Street bus stop every 30 minutes instead of every hour.

"I think that would help a lot of us regular riders," she said.

The bus was equipped with an automated system that let riders know when they were approaching a stop, as well as a screen at the front of the bus that displayed the approaching stop for the hearing impaired. If someone wanted to stop, all they had to do was pull the yellow cord.

Embark's progressAbout two years into taking over the city's bus transit system, Embark has enjoyed its partnership with Norman and OU, Scroggins said.

He specifically pointed to how important the two entities were when COVID-19 made its way to the U.S., or when a major ice storm swept through Oklahoma in February.

"They have both been great partners since the very beginning," he said. "We were dealing with some unprecedented times. We navigated through the pandemic, as well as the unprecedented weather that featured extremely low temperatures and ice. During both of those instances, we never lost a day of service, and we were able to just continue to work together to ensure that we provided service and in a safe and efficient manner."

Embark Norman offers a fixed-route option, as well as Embark Plus, a paratransit service, Johnson said.

"Embark Plus is meant to be a safety net for people that cannot ride the fixed-route buses," he said.

Johnson said there is an application process to get approved for Plus. Embark reviews an application and sends it to the applicant's doctor, who then fills out their portion. He said it can take up to 21 days to be approved.

According to a Transit System Report discussed at the Community Planning and Transportation Committee in June, there were eight new Plus applications, 13 new approvals and one denial for May. Johnson said the city will likely release the stats for June and July at the August meeting, and hopes those statistics will be more telling about ridership.

"Starting in June, Embark increased capacity for both the fixed route bus and paratransit," he said. "They are evaluating the situation every two weeks to determine if increasing capacity is okay. With that, we are hoping ridership will begin increasing."

For more information on Embark and its services, visit embarkok.com.

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