The Knoxville Transportation Authority (KTA) approved a proposal by Knoxville Area Transit (KAT) staff to return some service to pre-Covid levels, thanks to workforce increases. The service improvements primarily involve service span increases, in particular on Sundays, and will go into effect on Monday, April 8, 2024.
“This has been a long journey of building back our workforce after the pandemic,” says Isaac, Thorne, Director of Transit for the City of Knoxville. “We so appreciate the patience of our passengers, and this helps us prepare for the KAT Reimagined new route network launch we are planning for August of this year.”
Some of the changes include:
• All Sunday service returns to pre-COVID service spans, with service from 8:15 a.m. to 8:15 p.m. (service currently ends at 5:15 p.m.)
• Weekday and Saturday routes previously cut in the evenings return to previous evening service levels.
• Route 42 Hospital bus returns to 30-minute service (currently once/hour) on weekdays
• A routing change for South Knoxville routes that will allow easier access in and out of downtown and Knoxville Station
A full list of service improvements and route changes can be found on KAT’s website at www.katbus.com.
“It is very exciting to see the service being restored,” says Candace Brakewood, Vice-Chair of the KTA. “I remember a few years ago when we had to cut most of this service and it was a sad day. It is a very happy day to see a lot of the service coming back.”
As new hires continue to onboard and go through the months long training process, KAT anticipates meeting the bus operator target of 200 in time for the KAT Reimagined network kick-off, currently scheduled for the end of August.
For more information on this news release, contact Belinda Woodiel-Brill at 865-215-7828 or Becca James at 865-215-7826.