After receiving community input on transit priorities during Phase 1 of KAT’s public engagement process, the new draft transit network is now available for the public to review and provide feedback.   

KAT will be engaging the public in multiple ways throughout the month of February to get feedback from riders and the general public. Opportunities for public engagement include the following: 

• Review the draft network and take the online survey at www.katreimagined.com 
• Register for the virtual public meeting to be held on Wednesday, February 8 from noon to 1pm.  Registration available at https://www.katreimagined.com/connect
• Attend one of two in-person open house-style public meetings at Knoxville Station Transit Center’s Community Room, 301 Church Avenue: Thursday, February 23 from 5pm – 7pm or on Saturday, February 25 from 11am-1pm. 

This draft plan shows how the KAT bus network could be run differently within its existing budget, with a shift toward routes with higher frequencies with less overall coverage. This was developed based on feedback from public during the first phase and direction from the Knoxville Transportation Authority (KTA) Board.   According to the plan analysis, on average, the draft plan allows more people to get to more places sooner, but some places do lose coverage.  Different locations are highlighted in the draft network report to show how access to jobs and other opportunities are impacted by the proposed new network. 

Over the next month, KAT invites the public to learn more about the Draft Network by reading more at our project website katreimagined.com, participating in public meetings, and taking the public survey (available at the project website).  

KAT’s consultant team staff will also be meeting bus riders and the public at various events to ask about the draft network with a paper version of this survey. For up-to-date information on when and where staff will be, see katreimagined.com. 

To stay involved in the KAT Reimagined study, join the email list at our website katreimagined.com, like us on facebook.com/knoxvilleareatransit, and follow us on Twitter @kat_bus. 

For more information on this news release, contact Belinda Woodiel-Brill at 865-215-7828 or bbrill@katbus.com. 

KAT is partnering with Muse Knoxville to host a FREE Kids Holiday Party to bring cheer to our passengers and their families. The event will be on Saturday, December 10, 2022 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the lobby at Knoxville Station Transit Center, 301 Church Avenue.  Partygoers can take photos with Santa (bring your own camera) and participate in children’s activities provided by Muse Knoxville. There will be a coloring area with festive scenes for children to decorate and take home. Each child will also receive a free gift (an age-appropriate book) while supplies last. These books were provided through generous donations from several community members (Rheumatology Consultants, PLLC, Bill & Lynn Geiger, Leigh Garrett, Sandy and Jeff Keenan, and Roxanne Johnson).   Activities planned are recommended for those age 12 and under. 

“This is an opportunity for us to express our gratitude to our passengers and their families,” says Isaac Thorne, Director of Transit for the City of Knoxville. “We hope to spread a bit of holiday cheer to those passengers that mean so much to us.” 

For more information on this news release, please contact Becca James at 865-215-7826 or Belinda Woodiel-Brill at 865-215-7828. 

On Thursday, December 1, KAT will pay tribute to Rosa Parks by keeping one seat open on every bus.  The seat will feature a placard recognizing the contribution made by Parks in the fight for racial justice and equality, and how the small act of sitting down on a city bus changed the course of history in the United States. 

Rosa Parks was arrested on December 1, 1955 after refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama.  This act led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a 381-day boycott of the city’s transit system by African Americans which led to the Supreme Court ruling declaring segregation on public transportation systems unconstitutional.  

“Rosa Parks’s seemingly small act of courage in the fight for racial justice had enormous consequences,” says Isaac Thorne, Director of Transit for the City of Knoxville.  “We honor that courage and the work of past civil rights leaders, while recognizing the responsibility we all have to continue to advance efforts to achieve racial equity across our city and our nation.” 

For more information on this news release, contact Belinda Woodiel-Brill at 865-215-7828. In-person interviews with KAT Public Relations staff available until noon on December 1.