Published: March 20, 2009 09:57 pm         

Stimulus boost in the works for Cherokee Strip Transit fleet

Cherokee Strip Transit logs a lot of miles with its fleet of 42 vehicles, but the rural transportation service is about to get a stimulus boost that will make those miles stretch a lot farther.

As part of the state’s transit system, CST will be awarded vehicles through the national stimulus program, said Larry Tipps, executive director of Northern Oklahoma Development Authority. The transit service operates under the NODA umbrella.

What Tipps is not sure of at this point, however, is exactly how many vehicles CST will re-ceive. Current information shows the rural transit on line to receive 20 mini-vans and up to three 11-15 passenger vans, all of which would be handicapped accessible, Tipps said.

The stimulus boost is part of a statewide allotment to transit systems that will see Enid Transit receive vehicles, as well, said Andrie Winters, grant resource manager for the city of Enid, which operates Enid’s transpiration system.

Enid Transit covers the city of Enid, while Cherokee Strip Transit covers seven counties, including Garfield. The home for CST is located in Garber, where the service originated in 1991.

Even as the local transit operations learn of the stimulus allotment, officials are waiting on key information about the new vehicles — such as whether they will be integrated into the current fleet or if the services will have to replace current vehicles with the new allocations.

“There are a lot of questions we don’t know the answers to,” Tipps said.

Winters said the city has received award verification it will receive four vehicles through the stimulus program that will cost $188,320. She said Oklahoma Department of Transportation opted to bid out for all transit vehicles across the state to bring the price down for the transpiration operations.

“Not only are we getting new vehicles but we are getting them at bargain-basement pricing,” Winters said.

Because the state is buying the vehicles in bulk for the transit operations, Enid is getting $236,000 worth of vehicles for $188,320.

And they’re not through yet.

Winters said the city applies for three grants yearly that basically fund the transit program. She said they expect more stimulus money through those grants.

Even with extra dollars, there are no plans for any expansion at this time because there is no evidence of a need for additional service, Winters said, but that would be evaluated if a need arose.

Most likely the money will go toward purchases to im-prove the system not normally affordable or to simply operate with less supplementation from the city.

Meanwhile, NODA is working with Congressman Frank Lucas’ office for additional stimulus money that would benefit all northwest Oklahoma transit services, including CST and Enid Transit, Tipps said.

“We’re pretty excited about that if it happens,” he said of the stimulus allocations. “Again, we’re still trying to sift through the numbers.”

Cherokee Strip Transit offers transportation throughout northwest Oklahoma and to the metro areas of Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Wichita, Kan., to residents of Garfield, Kay, Grant, Noble, Alfalfa, Kingfisher and Blaine counties. For information about the service, call (580) 863-2279 or go to www.okladot.state.ok.us/tran sit/s5311/cherokee.htm.

For information about the city’s operation, call 233-7433 or go to www.enid.org.