Muskogee County Transit and city finalize cooperative agreement; agency outlines service expansions

The City of Muskogee approved a cooperative agreement with Muskogee County Transit on June 23, 2025, to continue public transportation services inside city limits.

Haley Fricks, representing Muskogee County Transit, told the council the agency is a public trust funded by the city, the county, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and the Federal Transit Administration. Fricks said the agency has 26 employees and reported more than 20,000 trips and over 150,000 miles in the most recent reporting period.

Fricks described several service initiatives: curb‑to‑curb rides (a demand service similar to ride‑hailing with advance notice), fixed city routes supported by city funding, a work‑release partnership with Eddie Warrior Correctional Facility, and nonprofit partnership rides. She highlighted a year‑old scheduling software, Ecolane, which she said improved booking ability and driver communications.

Fricks told the council Muskogee County Transit is developing a pilot to provide rides after 6 p.m. in partnership with Saint Francis to assist with patient discharges and expects to expand evening service if the pilot proves successful. She also described a summer reading partnership with the public library that offers free rides for patrons who check out library materials and receive a transit bookmark.

Driver Ivory Van spoke during public comment, praising transit staff and describing routes that run to Tahlequah and Job Corps. “I like my job,” Van said, and described the agency’s practice of assisting riders who cannot pay immediately.

Council approved the cooperative agreement with a roll call vote; the council’s recorded vote was in the affirmative and the item passed.