Omaha is moving forward with a $478 million streetcar plan, aiming to become the least populous metro area in the United States with a modern system.
The development arrives after a nationwide boom that saw cities from Washington to Atlanta tear up roads and install overhead wires, a trend that cooled when Obama-era funding dried up.
Leaders argue that the city has a distinct advantage over earlier efforts: hindsight. By modeling the new system after Portland and Kansas City, officials hope to avoid the pitfalls that plagued other locales.
Lessons from the Past
The goal to spur development comes from Portland, where the first modern streetcar helped transform an industrial district into a high‑density neighborhood.
Omaha’s proposed downtown‑to‑midtown route mirrors Kansas City’s strategy of linking lively areas that attract both locals and visitors. Offering free rides is another tactic borrowed from Oklahoma City, where ridership grew after fares were eliminated.
Streetcar operations manager Eric Miller says the city hopes to make Omaha’s system “the best streetcar in the world.”
Critics view the plan as a sweetheart deal for developers and large businesses rather than a public utility. They point to systems in Washington and St. Louis that failed to attract enough riders to justify high costs.
Tom Rubin, a transportation consultant who grew up in Omaha, argues that streetcars are built for stakeholders, not riders or taxpayers.
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The Public Consensus Gap
One of the most significant differences between Omaha and its peers is the lack of a citizen mandate.
While nine of the 16 modern streetcar projects had some form of voter approval, Omaha never put the question to its residents. In Portland and Kansas City, residents living along the routes formed special tax districts to fund the projects.
Voters in Oklahoma City and Arizona approved massive spending packages that included streetcar funding, and Cincinnati voters twice rejected anti‑streetcar measures to keep the project moving.
The absence of a vote has left many residents feeling excluded. Local real‑estate agent Ron Rubin criticized the city for handing “profiteers access to citizens’ resources” without a public vote.
Steve Jensen, the interim director of the Omaha Streetcar Authority, explained that the plan is paid for through a tax increment financing scheme, meaning it draws on future taxes generated by new developments rather than existing city funds or public bonds.
This financial structure leads to a basic misunderstanding among residents who feel they are not paying for it directly.
Design and Governance
Effective governance appears to be another area where Omaha can improve.
In Kansas City, the streetcar board included a mix of real‑estate developers, small business owners, and advocates for transit and neighborhoods. The diverse representation focused the project on rider experience and community engagement.
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In contrast, six of the seven Omaha board members are city or Metro Transit employees, with the lone private‑sector representative being influential developer Jay Noddle.
Clark Ross, who founded the Streetcar Impact Alliance to advocate for affected businesses, noted that many felt unheard during the approval process.
The city isn’t legally obligated to include private stakeholders on the board for a TIF‑backed project, but leaders plan to create an advisory committee to gather those perspectives.
The route design itself aims to avoid the mistakes of others. While Oklahoma City’s line twists in confusing loops and Atlanta’s route runs through underdeveloped areas, Miller said Omaha’s straight line connecting Blackstone to the Riverfront blends popular destinations with developable land.
Will They Come?
The success of a streetcar ultimately depends on ridership.
Washington’s line, which opened in 2016 with a $200 million price tag, shut down in March after failing to compete with a nearby bus route that carried 8,000 more daily riders.
St. Louis opened its streetcar in 2018 with federal funding, projecting 400,000 riders in the first year. It sold only about 17,000 tickets before shutting down due to high operating costs.
That line now runs seasonally, with 2025 ridership barely reaching 10,300.