Measuring the Benefits of Intercity Passenger Rail: A Study

two sections—I-35W (toward Fort Worth) and I-35E (toward Dallas). U.S. 77 runs concurrent
with I-35E from this point. The TxDOT Transportation Planning and Programming Division
reports that the annual average daily traffic (AADT) for the section immediately south of the I-
35/U.S 77 Red River crossing was 33,000 vehicles per day in 2008 (56). This figure represents
the daily vehicle traffic traveling between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth, as the Red River
Bridge is the only direct route between the two cities. This figure also includes traffic traveling
to Dallas and other points in the North Texas region, as well as traffic passing through the
intercity corridor traveling between external points. Additionally, a 2003 research study
forecasting patronage on a proposed high-speed passenger rail route between Oklahoma City and
Tulsa estimated that in 2001, more than 88 percent of the total person-trips in the intercity
corridor between Oklahoma City and Dallas-Fort Worth were made in an automobile (47).
Two companies: Greyhound and Jefferson Lines, provide intercity bus service in the
Oklahoma City-Fort Worth corridor. Both companies operate service out of the Oklahoma City
bus depot as well as the Fort Worth Intermodal Transit Center. Greyhound serves Oklahoma
City, Norman, Pauls Valley, Ardmore, and Gainesville with four scheduled departures in each
direction, south to Dallas and north to Kansas City. Direct bus service to Fort Worth from the
cities along the corridor is not available from Greyhound; passengers must transfer in Dallas to
access Fort Worth (57). As of December 2009, Jefferson Lines offered direct service between
Oklahoma City and Fort Worth via Lawton (OK) and Wichita Falls (TX), as well as service to
several of the communities served by the Heartland Flyer on a route that operates between
Oklahoma City and Dallas (similar in structure to the Greyhound routing). However, as of
March 2010, Jefferson Lines reported a schedule that included a single daily non-stop bus
between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth, perhaps signaling an expansion of the company’s
presence in this market (58). Fares for intercity bus travel in the corridor are not published, but
several Amtrak on-board staff and Heartland Flyer passengers reported to researchers that the
bus fares were more expensive than the train fares.
Two commercial air carriers provide regularly-scheduled service in the Oklahoma City-
Fort Worth corridor: American Airlines, which serves Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport
(DFW), and Southwest Airlines, which serves Dallas Love Field Airport (DAL). All regularlyscheduled
commercial air service in Oklahoma City is at Oklahoma City-Will Rodgers World
Airport (OKC). No other commercial air service airports exist along the Heartland Flyer
48