Metropolitan Tulsa Transit Authority

MetroLink

Parent	City of Tulsa
Founded	1968
Headquarters	510 South Rockford, Tulsa
Locale	Tulsa, Oklahoma
Service area	Tulsa, Jenks, Broken Arrow, and Sand Springs
Service type	bus service, paratransit, express bus service
Routes	18
Hubs	2 Transit Centers 13 Park and Rides (locally called "Park-N-Save lots")
Fleet	141 buses and vans
Daily ridership	6,491 (weekdays, 2023) [1]
Annual ridership	1,991,867 (2023) [1]
General manager	Scott Marr
Website	metrolinkok.org

MetroLink, officially the Metropolitan Tulsa Transit Authority (MTTA), is the public transit system operating buses and paratransit for Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. It has 18 routes and several microtransit zones that serve Tulsa. The system has two major hubs: Memorial Midtown Station at 7952 E. 33rd St. in Midtown Tulsa, and the Denver Avenue Station at 319 S. Denver across from the BOK Center in Downtown.

The Metropolitan Tulsa Transit Authority was formed in 1968 and adopted the brand name Tulsa Transit in 1980. It was renamed to MetroLink in 2024. ^[2]

History

Tulsa Transit Aero bus stop 8005

The city's first bus rapid transit line, known as "Aero" or 700, began operating on November 17, 2019, on Peoria Avenue from 52nd Street North to 81st Street South and Lewis. The route has 52 stations and buses that arrive every 15 to 30 minutes. ^[3] The service officially launched on December 19, 2019. ^[4] A second bus rapid transit line, named Route 66 for the historic highway, will travel on East 11th Street from Downtown Tulsa to the Eastgate Metroplex. It was originally scheduled to begin construction in August 2024 and open in February 2025, but was delayed several years due to a lack of funding. ^[5] The line is scheduled to open in June 2026 for the centennial of Route 66. ^[6]

In August 2023, Tulsa Transit experienced its busiest month ever to that point, with ridership reaching about 290,000. ^[7] MetroLink was officially adopted as the system's new name in March 2024. ^[2]

Operations

MetroLink operates regular fixed service Monday to Saturday, from early mornings to early evenings. After daytime service ceases between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., the service operates night service on its "Nightlines" until midnight. Bus frequencies are 30 or 60 minutes Monday through Saturday. A fixed route service with reserved deviations permitted (identical to Nightline routes), operates on Sundays. There is no service on public holidays.

The service used to be known for request stops: bus stops were infrequently signed and would stop on request typically after any intersection where it is safe to do so. This practice was abolished, and stops posted, in a September 2019 system redesign. ^[8]

Routes

Denver Avenue Station

MetroLink operates a variety of routes all over the city, and into Jenks, Broken Arrow and Sand Springs although it does not run as a full-time bus fleet in those locations. Each set of routes is grouped by the first of the three digits, as follows:

• 1xx routes serve Denver Avenue Station to various parts of the city.
• 2xx routes serve various parts of the city between Denver Avenue and Memorial Midtown Stations.
• 3xx routes serve Memorial Midtown Station to various parts of the city without going to Downtown Tulsa.
• 4xx routes serve neither station, but serve parts of the city.
• 5xx routes serve areas outside of Tulsa.
• 6xx routes run during major events as shuttles.
• 7xx routes are bus rapid transit routes.
• 8xx routes are operate only on Sundays, or at night, and serve each quadrant of the city.
• 9xx routes are express and link Downtown Tulsa and outlying park and rides.

Fleet

As of 2022 ^[update] , the system has 107 buses that are mostly powered by compressed natural gas. There are also four battery electric buses and seven that use diesel fuel. ^[9]

Fixed route ridership

The ridership statistics shown here are of fixed route services only and do not include demand response services. ^[10]

1,000,000

2,000,000

3,000,000

4,000,000

2002

2005

2008

2011

2014

2017

2020

2023

See also

• List of bus transit systems in the United States

References

1. "2023 Annual Agency Profile: Metropolitan Tulsa Transit Authority" (PDF). Federal Transit Administration. September 30, 2024. Retrieved October 1, 2025.
2. Abrams, Ben (March 13, 2024). "Tulsa's transit system has a new name: MetroLink". KOSU . Retrieved October 1, 2025.
3. Canfield, Kevin (November 17, 2019). "Tulsa's Bus Rapid Transit service along Peoria Avenue begins Sunday". Tulsa World . Retrieved April 7, 2020.
4. Butler, Megan (December 19, 2019). "Tulsa Transit officially launches Aero Bus, extends free rides through Jan. 2". KTUL News . Retrieved April 7, 2020.
5. Canfield, Kevin (May 27, 2023). "Route 66 bus route start date pushed back due to $15 million funding shortage" . Tulsa World. Retrieved October 1, 2025.
6. Abrams, Ben (July 2, 2024). "Buses, a space cowgirl and the Mother Road's "capital" – the latest Route 66 developments in Tulsa". Public Radio Tulsa . Retrieved October 1, 2025.
7. "Tulsa Transit sees its highest monthly ridership ever, official says". Kevin Canfield, Tulsa World, August 31, 2023.
8. Slanchik, Amy (23 September 2019). "Tulsa Transit Changes Routes, First Update In 15 Years". News On Six. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
9. Jones, Ashley (August 16, 2022). "Tulsa Transit awarded $11 million to expand fleet and go greener" . Tulsa World. Retrieved October 1, 2025.
10. "The National Transit Database (NTD)" . Retrieved April 24, 2024.

External links

• Official website
• "Tulsa's Smart City Transportation Initiative." City of Tulsa. February 4, 2016. Long-range study for U.S. Department of Transportation, Beyond Traffic: The Smart City Challenge.