MOUNT VERNON — Knox County Transit will debut four new, fixed routes within the city on June 2. All of the routes are free to ride.
The routes run from 7 to 11 a.m. and noon to 5 p.m. Drivers take a lunch break from 11 a.m. to noon.
Transit Director Bethany Celmar told the county commissioners that summer is a good time to launch these routes because KCT has fewer trips in the summer.
“There are four different lines. They run on a half-hour loop,” she explained.
“They all intersect and they will be fare free so that folks will have an easier access to get from one end of the city to another.”
The four routes are the Yauger Jog, Yellow Jacket Express, Round Hill, and Coshocton Express.
Stops include KCT’s primary destinations, including Knox Community Hospital, Walmart, and Kroger. The routes also include several key apartment complexes that KCT serves.
“We have the schedule written, and at this point there’s a lot of details we’ll need to work out and just make the jump,” Celmar said.
The routes will serve many of the on-demand trips KCT currently serves, Celmar said.
The routes are technically flex routes, which means drivers can go a short way onto a side street to pick up passengers.
“The big thing is that we have to stay on target and on track and on time,” Celmar said.
Celmar developed and tweaked the routes based on the fixed-route data and analysis. She hopes to launch one south of the river in the fall.
‘We are not afraid of making a mistake’
The wait time at transfer locations is 10 to 15 minutes. All routes include a stop at the transit building on West Chestnut Street.
On Thursday morning, the commissioners approved buying the warehouse on Lot 3 in Heartland Commerce Park for a new transit center. While the commissioners and the Knox County Land Bank finalize the purchase agreement, details regarding where the stop will be are being finalized.
“We’re going to test these out. This will be a pilot. We want to see what works. We’re not going to circulate empty buses, certainly,” Celmar said.
County Administrator Jason Booth said it seems simple when you look at the routes on paper.
“It’s not a simple process, and we were required to do some studies and had some consulting help and Bethany’s teams help,” he said.
“I think this is a testament to Bethany and her team. This is a long time in the making, to get these maps and get the actual routes.”
Booth said the transit agency will do “proof of concept.”
“If these don’t work, we’ll tweak them, but we’re not going to know until we roll them out and start circulating the buses,” he said.
“But we’re not going to be afraid of making a mistake.”
More part-time drivers provide buffer
Celmar said the current staff can handle the new routes. However, she would like at least two more part-time drivers to provide a buffer for call-offs.
Part-time drivers typically work 28 hours a week and cannot exceed 30. Shifts are flexible:
•AM shift: 5 a.m. to 1 p.m.
•Mid-shift: 8:30 or 10 a.m. to 4:30 or 5 p.m.
•Afternoon shift: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Days are also flexible. Drivers could work every day for four hours, Saturday or night only, or three days a week for seven hours, for example.
Vehicles include minivans, small buses (nine-seat), and large buses. Only the large buses require a CDL (commercial driver’s license).
Celmar said the June 2 launch is a soft launch.
“I’m not going to have a lot of riders in the beginning, and we’ll just have conversations one on one and start to build up that ridership as we go,” she said.
