Just wanted to let others on here know about if you haven't heard.

Oklahoma Watch will hold a free public forum on Dec. 15 that features discussion of the future of mass transit in central Oklahoma, including expansion plans, sources of funding and whether more Oklahomans are willing to cut back on driving and instead take a bus or train.

The “Oklahoma Watch-Out” forum will be held from 6 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 15, at Kamp’s 1910 Café, located at 10 N.E. 10th Street in Oklahoma City.

Featured guests will be:

> Jason Ferbrache, administrator of the Central Oklahoma Parking and Transit Authority and director of Oklahoma City's Public Transportation and Parking Department.

> Danny O’Connor, director of transportation planning for the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments.

> Lauren Branch, former chairman of the Oklahoma Alliance for Public Transportation and executive director of NewView Oklahoma, a charity that assists the blind.

By all measures, public transportation in Oklahoma’s largest urban area (and in the Tulsa area) lags that of its peers. Bus service is relatively thin. There is no light rail or commuter rail. No funding mechanism for regional transit is in place. Yet in recent years an effort to improve public transit has picked up pace, with a streetcar project and night bus service in Oklahoma City and better systems in some suburban communities. Where does the metro area go from here? Are taxpayers willing to pay for a regional transit system? Will people of all income levels become riders?

Oklahoma Watch Executive Editor David Fritze will moderate the discussion, and the audience is invited to ask questions. Those interested in attending are encouraged to RSVP to events@oklahomawatch.org.

- Read more here: http://oklahomawatch.org/2015/12/01/...-mass-transit/