Budget & Tax

ONE Transit approves consulting contract for proposed OKC commuter rail

August 21, 2026

Ray Carter

Oklahoma City officials have called for constructing a commuter rail system running along roughly 10 stops from Edmond to Oklahoma City to Norman. The project will cost up to $1.8 billion with much of the money coming from local citizens through a proposed tax increase or through taxpayer funds via the federal government.

The plan requires a public vote to raise taxes, and the date of that vote has not yet been set. Nevertheless, officials have already begun incurring expenses associated with the proposed system.

During an August 19 special meeting, members of the board of directors of ONE Transit, the business unit of the Regional Transportation Authority of Central Oklahoma, unanimously voted to approve a professional services agreement with the Kimley-Horn firm for various services associated with the proposed passenger train system.

The contract will provide Kimley-Horn up to $450,000 annually. The initial contract is for two years with an option for three additional one-year renewals, bringing the cumulative value of the contract to as much as $2.25 million.

The agreement states that Kimley-Horn will “provide program leadership to assist ONE Transit with the development, implementation, and general oversight of the high-capacity transit system defined in the Transit System Plan.”

Kimley-Horn will help ONE Transit develop work plans, funding strategies, and assist in procurement, among other things.

Suzanne Wickenkamp, director of strategic initiatives for ONE Transit, told board members that the contract focuses on “readiness.”

“There’s procurements that we need to be ready for so that if the voters do approve a sales tax, we’re not now getting into this mode of getting our ducks in a row,” Wickenkamp said.

She also indicated the proposed tax-increase and passenger-rail construction plan could involve a substantial increase in local government employment, as well as the challenge of tracking “a lot of sales tax revenue” if the proposal gets voter approval.

“There’s going to be focus on preparing for staffing up,” Wickenkamp said. “So again, if the sales tax passes, what are some of the first hires that need to be done? What are some of the technology systems that need to be in place? If we’re collecting a lot of sales tax revenue, we need to have an accounting system.”

According to one document included in the service agreement, the Kimley-Horn firm receives $3.4 billion in annual gross receipts nationwide.

Photo credit: ONE Transit, via Future Transit System Plan