EMBARK Selects Streetcar Operator

June 2, 2017

EMBARK’s Board of Trustees awarded a contract Friday with Herzog Transit Services, Inc. for the start-up, operation and maintenance of the seven-vehicle Oklahoma City Streetcar system that's expected to begin passenger service in late 2018. The $131 million MAPS 3 project started construction in January.

The six-year contract with Herzog Transit Services, Inc. of Irving, Texas will provide turn-key operations, vehicle maintenance and facility maintenance for the streetcar system. The firm will provide all required operations and maintenance functions, from preparing detailed operating procedures and readying the system for start-up, to providing all necessary day-to-day streetcar operations functions, including scheduling, training, and maintenance of the 4.8 miles of revenue track, .4 miles of non-revenue track and all streetcar assets; including the streetcar fleet, track and switches, power systems, overhead catenary system (OCS), support vehicles and its 22 passenger platforms.

“Herzog’s extensive passenger-rail experience contributed to their selection,” says Jason Ferbrache, EMBARK administrator. “Their partnership brings the expertise needed to introduce urban rail service to Oklahoma City.”

Herzog Transit Services. Inc. operates 13 other rail-based passenger projects in the U.S., including the Kansas City Streetcar that began operations mid-2016. Herzog Transit Services, Inc. was selected as the preferred proposer by the EMBARK selection committee in 2016. Negotiations have been underway since December 21, 2016.

“The procurement process was rigorous and thorough. I would like to commend EMBARK and the City of Oklahoma City on a job well done,” says Scott Perry, President/CEO of Herzog Transit Services, Inc. “We look forward to becoming a part of the community and helping move Oklahoma City.”

The fixed-price operations and maintenance agreement include startup activities as well as operations and maintenance. The first 12-months base cost is $570,000 for year 1 startup. The contract cost for the first full year of revenue service is $3.2 million with gradual annual increases to $3.7 million in the sixth year, contingent on meeting certain performance standards.

“Our contract with Herzog includes pricing options for hours of operations and service levels. We have designed a scenario that best fits our current transit operations,” adds Ferbrache. “The flexibility of this contract allows us to balance hours for weekend service and special event service within the cost of operations. And should funding become available, we can also add service.”

The anticipated schedule for the OKC Streetcar will be Monday through Thursday from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m. and Friday and Saturday from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. The schedule also allows for 1,200 service hours outside of that schedule for special events such as all Thunder home games, the Arts Festival and other highly attended events which may occur on Sundays.

About the MAPS 3 Streetcar Project

Locally funded by the 2009 MAPS 3 Program, the Oklahoma City streetcar is a $131 million capital project that kicked-off construction in January, 2017. To learn more about the construction of this MAPS3 project, visit https://www.okc.gov/government/maps-3/projects/modern-streetcar-transit .

The OKC Streetcar system will join EMBARK’s family of transit services and will operate as two lines – the B Line (Bricktown line) and the D Line (Downtown line). Each line will operate its own schedule. Both lines are co-mingled with traffic, and serve 22 curbside platforms.