Comanche Nation Transit Expands Service

Comanche Nation Transit has begun its trial runs of servicing the community on the first Saturday of every month through its new app.

Transit Asset Manager Rebecca Tahchawwickah said the department wants to provide an extra day of transportation.

“We started it officially March, the first weekend of March,” she said. “We were contemplating it starting back in January, and then February we were like, ‘All right you know what let's do this. Let's get the ball running let's give it a try and see where it goes.’”

Tahchawwickah said there’s demand from the community.

“We go to conferences quite often, and we network with other transit agencies,” she said. “And I remember talking, me and my director were talking to this one girl, and she's like, you know, I asked my clients what they were doing on the weekend, and they said ‘Well, I got a curfew I really can't do anything.’ ‘What do you mean you're a grown adult? Why do you have a curfew?’ ‘Well, you're not running.’”

Tahchawwickah said the beginning of the month is a busy time.

“We know the first of the month is important for everyone who wants to get out and pay their bills, go grocery shopping, everything like that,” she said. “So, Saturday first-of-the-month service seemed like a good idea, and so far, it's been pretty good.”

However, Tahchawwickah said the app is the only way to book a Saturday ride and is the most significant change for riders.

“Most of our clients are used to us being in office, and we would love to be able to do that,” she said. “And again, since this is a pilot project, we want to go ahead and utilize the app first, move from there, see what our feedback is like, get more input from the public and then move forward and make better decisions regarding the Saturday service.”

The best way to book is through Ecolane, which allows riders to share their location while using the app and choosing a pick-up location.

From there, riders can pick their drop-off location and time.

“I just want to go to Walmart or something. Okay, we're gonna allow it to access our device's location while we're using the app, and again we're gonna choose our pickup location so for Bingo Road if it'll let me. Okay, drop-off, we're gonna go to Walmart. You're gonna hit arrive by, well arrive by if you have an appointment, leave by if you want to go somewhere at a specific time.”

Their next Saturday rides will be on April 6.

More information can be found by calling 580-492-3389 or emailing transit@comanchenation.com. Transit can also be found on Facebook.