Embark (transit authority)

Embark (styled in all caps as EMBARK) is a public transit agency in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Operated by the Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority (COTPA), EMBARK is the largest transit agency in the state and operates services throughout the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.

EMBARK operates bus and paratransit service in Oklahoma City and Norman (including an express bus connecting the two cities), the Oklahoma City Streetcar, RAPID bus rapid transit service, public parking and bike shares in Downtown Oklahoma City, and ferry service on the Oklahoma River. It also provides administrative and executive support for the Regional Transportation Authority of Central Oklahoma.

In 2025, the system had a ridership of 3,228,400, or about 9,000 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2025.

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).^[3]

The system was rebranded as MassTrans in 1975^[3] and used that name until 1992, when it was rebranded as Metro Transit,^[4] 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.^[3]

Embark previously operated "Oklahoma Spirit Trolleys", a trolley-replica bus network from 1999 to 2020.^[5]

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.^[6]

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.^[7][8]

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.^[9]

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.^[10]

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 late 2019, EMBARK assumed operation of Cleveland Area Rapid Transit's non-campus service, which consisted of seven bus routes and paratransit in Norman.^[11] In 2023, EMBARK opened a new transit center in downtown Norman and redesigned the Norman route network.^[12]

In 2022, Embark broke ground on construction of RAPID NW, Oklahoma City's first Bus Rapid Transit route.^[13] Service opened on December 3, 2023.

Embark charges a $1.75 adult fare and $0.75 reduced fares on buses in Oklahoma City. For the Oklahoma City Streetcar and express buses, passengers are charged either a $3 adult fare and $1.50 reduced fare. Passengers under the age of 19 are able to apply for an annual fare-free pass. Embark offers daily, weekly, and annual passes for both adults and passengers who qualify for reduced fares.^[14] All non-express Embark routes in Norman are free to ride.^[15]

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. Most (but not all) EMBARK routes terminate at the EMBARK Transit Center in Downtown Oklahoma City.

RAPID is a bus rapid transit service operated by EMBARK. RAPID services specially-designed larger stations and utilizes transit signal priority to ensure faster trips.^[16] RAPID operates seven days per week with 12-30 minute headways.

The service currently consists of one line, RAPID NW (route 200), which travels from the EMBARK Transit Center in Downtown Oklahoma City along Classen Boulevard and Northwest Expressway (SH-3) to a park-and-ride lot at the intersection of Meridian Avenue and SH-3.^[17] The line travels 9.5 miles (15.3 km) and services 32 stops (16 each way).^[16]

Two other RAPID lines in northeast and southern Oklahoma City are planned as part of the MAPS 4 project.^[18]

EMBARK operates Oklahoma River Cruises, a ferry service on the Oklahoma River, which provides public service seasonally from April to November.^[19] The service also operates private charter cruises.

The service operates from five landings at Meridian Avenue, Stockyards City, Exchange Avenue, Bricktown, and Regatta Park.^[20] A sixth landing at the First Americans Museum is planned.^[21][22]

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.^[23] Much of the current Embark fleet can be referenced in the table below.

• List of bus transit systems in the United States
• Oklahoma City Streetcar
• Santa Fe Depot (Oklahoma City)

• Embark
• Embark Norman