2019 Oklahoma Statutes
Title 69. Roads Bridges and Ferries
§69-322. Office of Mobility and Public Transit.

A. There is hereby created the Office of Mobility and Public Transit within the Department of Transportation. All current Transit Division responsibilities, including oversight and management of Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grants and resources and the State Management Plan, are moved to the Office of Mobility and Public Transit. Notwithstanding this subsection, the Office of Mobility and Public Transit will not be responsible for oversight and management of FTA grants and resources received by transit agencies as a direct recipient of the FTA as that is not a current responsibility of the Transit Division. All Federal Transit Administration program implementations not currently managed by the Department of Transportation shall be moved to the Office of Mobility and Public Transit from other state agencies and other state programs. The Office of Mobility and Public Transit is charged with overseeing a network of public transit systems that receive adequate funding to ensure the mobility needs of all Oklahomans are met in a safe, affordable, reliable, consistent and coordinated fashion.

B. The Office of Mobility and Public Transit shall promulgate rules and procedures to:

1. Implement innovative pilot programs including, but not limited to, microtransit and autonomous vehicles in the following systems:

a.EMBARK,

b.Tulsa Transit,

c.Little Dixie Transit, and

d.other transit systems as determined by the Department of Transportation;

2. Implement expansion of the current Veterans' Ride Connect call center at Pelivan Transit to create a "one call/one click" statewide system for all citizens; and

3. Develop the Oklahoma Public Transit Policy Plan. The plan will be developed jointly by the Department of Transportation and the Oklahoma Transit Association.

a.A copy of the plan shall be submitted to the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate by July 1, 2020.

b.The plan shall:

(1)be all-inclusive of the public transit systems in the state,

(2)reflect the results of the 2018 Oklahoma Transit Needs Assessment conducted by the Small Urban and Rural Transit Center,

(3)include all stakeholder input,

(4)provide for future collaboration and coordination of an effective network of public transit systems across the state,

(5)provide for future collaboration and coordination among all public transit agencies and systems and all stakeholders with an interest in public transit, and

(6)provide for future collaboration and coordination among all state agencies with an interest in public transit including, but not limited to, the:

(a)Oklahoma Department of Commerce,

(b)Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services,

(c)Oklahoma Department of Human Services,

(d)Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services,

(e)Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs,

(f)Oklahoma Association of Centers for Independent Living,

(g)Oklahoma Health Care Authority,

(h)Oklahoma Employment Security Commission,

(i)Oklahoma State Department of Education,

(j)Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, and

(k)Oklahoma Department of Labor.

Added by Laws 2019, c. 143, § 1, eff. July 1, 2019.