The Omaha Streetcar has a name: Oscar.
Mayor John Ewing and the city’s streetcar team rolled out the branding, design and name of the upcoming streetcar system at the Kiewit Luminarium Friday afternoon. Five focus groups and more than 1,200 surveys contributed to the final branding.
“We were receiving ideas from across the community — through emails, on the Mayor’s Hotline and on the street,” Ewing said. “And overwhelmingly, they all pointed in the same direction.”
Six streetcar vehicles, expected to arrive in Omaha in 2027, will have the same design as Kansas City’s streetcar vehicles. Ewing said the design intends to be flexible for future extensions and sponsorships, and “represents movement between a variety of places and spaces.”
Omaha Streetcar Authority interim director Steve Jensen said the streetcar will be operated as part of Omaha’s Parking and Mobility Division, an integrated system that city officials said is meant to improve how all Omahans move around the city.
The Omaha Streetcar will be shortened to “Oscar” as its official nickname.
Construction on a roughly $26 million streetcar maintenance facility is still underway. Within the next year, the concrete building east of Eighth Street along Riverfront Drive will become a hub for the ambitious streetcar project.
Spain-based company Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles will produce the city’s six streetcar vehicles. Once operational, the vehicles are expected to run every 10 minutes during peak service. Service is planned for 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, with extended run times until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
A maximum of 150 people can fit on a single streetcar vehicle. When the streetcar system opens in 2028, they’ll ride for free.