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