The Omaha Traction Company was the dominant private streetcar provider of the time; it was engulfed in repeated labor disputes.

[14] In 2022, a revised plan was announced by Mayor Jean Stothert and the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce's Urban Core Committee.

[15] State Senator Justin Wayne, champion of TIF legislation for 'extremely blighted' areas of the state, questioned the use of TIF for the streetcar saying “For them to extremely blight that area is a slap in the face to North and South Omaha," citing multimillion-dollar investment and renovation projects going on in the urban core of the state's biggest city, “In no way is downtown Omaha extremely blighted.”[16] At the December 6, 2022, Omaha City Council meeting Thomas Rubin, CPA, CMA, CMC, CIA, CGFM, CFM, a transit industry senior executive, consultant, and auditor with four decades experience in transportation and an Omaha native provided a presentation.

[17][18] Rubin states the Omaha Rapid Bus Transit (ORBT) excels over the proposed streetcar line on almost all standard transportation measures: going over three times as far west to serve more potential riders and destinations, faster operating speed, and more trips/day – and at a far lower cost that does not require hundreds of millions of dollars of additional taxpayer capital.

[28] At a June 18, 2024 news conference Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert and Omaha Streetcar Authority Chairman and developer Jay Noddle updated streetcar corridor costs to $459 million, with $39 million of the increase to be paid by city sewer fees, and a potential cost-sharing agreement with Nebraska Department of Transportation to cover about $21.5 million in bridge replacement costs.

[29] In February 2024, it was announced that the line will use six CAF Urbos streetcars similar to those currently in use in Kansas City and Cincinnati.