Omaha's ORBT service celebrates 1 million rides

BANK. SKY CAMERA. WELL, METRO TRANSIT LAUNCHED ITS ORBIT BUS SYSTEM IN 2020, GIVING RIDERS A FASTER, SMARTER WAY TO MOVE ALONG. STOPS FROM WESTROADS MALL TO DOWNTOWN. WELL, NOW, NEARLY TWO AND A HALF YEARS LATER, IT IS CELEBRATING A MAJOR MILESTONE. JOINING ME NOW, METRO CEO LAUREN SENSEX AND METRO ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGER JOY WILLOUGHBY. WARREN JOY, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US THIS MORNING. OR THIS AFTERNOON, I SHOULD SAY. THANKS SO MUCH FOR HAVING US. CONGRATULATIONS. CELEBRATING 1 MILLION RIDES WITH ORBITZ. LAUREN, YOU WERE BEHIND THE ORIGINAL PROJECT. HAVE YOU SEEN IT GROW? ABSOLUTELY. THIS HAS BEEN A THING IN THE MAKING FOR A VERY LONG TIME. SUPER EXCITED THAT WE WERE ABLE TO BUILD IT. THAT TURNED INTO SUCH A WONDERFUL PRODUCT. AND TO BE ABLE TO BE HERE CELEBRATING A MILLION RIDES IS JUST SUCH A PERSONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT FOR METRO AS WELL AS FOR ME. THE BIG NUMBER RIGHT THERE, JOY. YOU OVERSAW A LOT OF THE BUILDING AND DESIGN PROCESS. HOW DID THAT EVOLVE OVER TIME? YOU KNOW, WE WENT THROUGH A LOT OF PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING FOR, I THINK ABOUT FOUR YEARS, AND THE DESIGN TOOK ABOUT TWO YEARS AND CONSTRUCTION WENT REALLY WELL. IT WAS ACTUALLY A LOT SMOOTHER THAN ANTICIPATED, ESPECIALLY BEING ALONG THE DOD STREET CORRIDOR WITH ALL OF THE TRAFFIC. BUT YEAH, IT’S I THINK IN TOTAL IT WAS ABOUT EIGHT YEARS LONG TO GET FROM START TO FINISH. WOW. AND JUST REAL QUICK, TWO AND A HALF YEARS OF THIS PROGRESS AND GROWTH, YOU BOTH HAVE TO BE PLEASED WITH WHAT YOU’VE SEEN. SO FAR, I IMAGINE. ABSOLUTELY. THE RIDERSHIP IS OBVIOUSLY A HUGE MILESTONE, BUT EVEN MORE THAN THAT, IT’S REALLY SEEN AS AN ASSET TO THE COMMUNITY. WE RECEIVE A LOT OF COMPLIMENTS ON THE STATION THAT WERE DESIGNED BY JOI AND HER TEAM IN TERMS OF HOW WELL THEY FIT INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD NEEDS. WE’VE WORKED WITH LOCAL ARTISTS AND OMAHA BY DESIGN TO ADD ART ALONG THE CORRIDOR. OVERALL, IT’S JUST A WONDERFUL THING. NOW WE HAVE TO GET TO THE CELEBRATE OF THE ONE MILLIONTH RIDE THIS WEEKEND. A COUPLE OF EVENTS TO CELEBRATE, IS THAT RIGHT? ABSOLUTELY. SO SATURDAY IS OUR BIG DAY TO CELEBRATE. WE WILL BE HONORING ALL OF OUR RIDERS AS WELL AS ALL OF THE HARD WORK FROM METRO STAFF AND OUR PARTNERS BY OFFERING FREE RIDES ALL DAY SATURDAY ON MATCHED ALL METRO SERVICES, INCLUDING ORBIT. WE ARE ALSO GOING TO BE DOING SOME SPECIAL SURPRISES ON THE ORBIT BUS AND WE’LL HAVE A ORBIT AT THE JEANNE LEAHY MALL 11TH STREET PROMENADE STARTING AT NOON ON SATURDAY. SO WHETHER YOU’RE A REGULAR RIDER OF ORBIT OR IT WILL BE YOUR FIRST TIME SATURDAY, SATURDAY’S A GREAT DAY TO TRY IT. FANTASTIC. AND OUR LAST MINUTE, I’D LOVE TO ASK YOU BOTH, MAYBE STARTING WITH YOU, JOY, WHAT DO YOU THINK, ORBIT RIDERS APPRECIATE THE MOST? I THINK IT’S THE ADDITION OF THE AMENITIES. THE REAL TIME ARRIVAL SIGNS. SO YOU CAN SEE WHEN THE NEXT BUS IS ARRIVING. YOU KNOW, HAVING A REALLY NICE LIT CANOPY IS AND THE TICKET VENDING MACHINES AT EACH STATION. SO I THINK THAT’S MADE A BIG DIFFERENCE FOR EVERYBODY. ANYTHING ELSE THAT THERE, LAUREN? WELL, I THINK THERE’S A COUPLE OF THINGS. ONE OF THEM IS THE FREQUENCY COMING EVERY 10 MINUTES REALLY PROVIDES A LOT MORE FLEXIBILITY TO PLANNING YOUR DAY AND REALLY NOT EVEN NEEDING TO PLAN YOUR DAY AND PLANNING YOUR TRIP. AND THEN ALSO WITH THE STATIONS WE’VE ADDED A LOT MORE INTERMODAL OPTIONS. SO WE PARTNER WITH HEARTLAND BIKE SHARE TO BRING BIKE BICYCLES STATIONS NEAR THE CORRIDOR AS WELL AS LEVEL BOARDING. SO WITH A WHEELCHAIR OR STROLLER YOU CAN JUST ROLL RIGHT ON. WELL, THAT’S FANTASTIC. CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU BOTH FOR 1 MILLION RIDES. THANK

Omaha's Metro Transit and ORBT celebrated a major milestone on Thursday — 1 million rides.The bus system, which launched in November 2020, gives riders a faster, smarter way to move along stops from Westroads Mall to downtown Omaha.“We’re seeing a steady growth in ridership,” Lauren Cencic, Metro Transit CEO, said in a statement. “It’s an honor to deliver high-quality transit to the Omaha community whether they’re longtime riders with Metro or the newer riders who continue to be drawn to the streamlined service.” ORBT's increase in ridership includes hitting a weekly average of over 9 thousand riders in February and 40 thousand riders for the whole month. Cencic said launching during the pandemic came with some challenges, but since then, ridership has steadily increased. "That really speaks to there is a demand and there is a need out there," she said. "When you provide that higher quality product, a higher quality transit service, you get the riders."Riders like Miguel Gonzalez. He likes to ride ORBT for convenience on his way to his college classes. "I get to sit down, relax and maybe also the screens there's also fun facts about history and stuff," he said.Gonzalez said riding the bus helps him save money on gas. "Ooo pretty easily a couple hundred dollars a week," he said.Now Metro has plans to expand its service to help more people like him. The next priority area is the 24th street corridor between north and south Omaha. Cencic said Metro received a federal grant to help with community engagement, so the community can help design the corridor. "It might be very similar to ORBT or it might be a little bit different depending on really, what the community wants to see, but certainly something that is equally important in terms of helping move people, connect people, places and opportunities," Cencic said.Cencic said Metro plans to kick off public meetings later this year so people can voice what they'd like to see for this transit service.Metro Transit will be celebrating its milestone this weekend with free rides all day on March 25, as well as an event from noon to 3 p.m. at the Gene Leahy Mall.Get the latest headlines from KETV NewsWatch 7

OMAHA, Neb. —

Omaha's Metro Transit and ORBT celebrated a major milestone on Thursday — 1 million rides.

The bus system, which launched in November 2020, gives riders a faster, smarter way to move along stops from Westroads Mall to downtown Omaha.

“We’re seeing a steady growth in ridership,” Lauren Cencic, Metro Transit CEO, said in a statement. “It’s an honor to deliver high-quality transit to the Omaha community whether they’re longtime riders with Metro or the newer riders who continue to be drawn to the streamlined service.”

ORBT's increase in ridership includes hitting a weekly average of over 9 thousand riders in February and 40 thousand riders for the whole month.

Cencic said launching during the pandemic came with some challenges, but since then, ridership has steadily increased.

"That really speaks to there is a demand and there is a need out there," she said. "When you provide that higher quality product, a higher quality transit service, you get the riders."

Riders like Miguel Gonzalez. He likes to ride ORBT for convenience on his way to his college classes.

"I get to sit down, relax and maybe also the screens there's also fun facts about history and stuff," he said.

Gonzalez said riding the bus helps him save money on gas.

"Ooo pretty easily a couple hundred dollars a week," he said.

Now Metro has plans to expand its service to help more people like him.

The next priority area is the 24th street corridor between north and south Omaha.

Cencic said Metro received a federal grant to help with community engagement, so the community can help design the corridor.

"It might be very similar to ORBT or it might be a little bit different depending on really, what the community wants to see, but certainly something that is equally important in terms of helping move people, connect people, places and opportunities," Cencic said.

Cencic said Metro plans to kick off public meetings later this year so people can voice what they'd like to see for this transit service.

Metro Transit will be celebrating its milestone this weekend with free rides all day on March 25, as well as an event from noon to 3 p.m. at the Gene Leahy Mall.

Get the latest headlines from KETV NewsWatch 7

Omaha's ORBT service celebrates 1 million rides

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