MOUNT VERNON — Knox County Transit hit a milestone in August when it recorded 54% of its rides related to employment.
“That is incredible,” Transit Director Bethany Celmar said. “What I’m hearing from other transits is they’re in the 20% to 30% range. So we are far and away above what other transits are doing.”
Walmart employees make up the largest group of job-related riders. About 26 of them use the night bus and day transit, Celmar said. Kroger employees also ride in significant numbers.
Medical trips accounted for 21% of the 5,867 rides in August. Drivers made 32 rides out of Knox County, and the free routes recorded 1,229 riders.
“We’re really glad to be a part of making sure that people get these essentials done,” Celmar said.
Most medical riders use a wheelchair, walker or cane, which makes reaching a stop on the free routes difficult, she said.
September numbers were similar to August. KCT provided 5,730 trips and 48 out-of-county rides, and route ridership rose to 1,540. Celmar attributed most of the route increase to Kenyon College students returning for the fall semester.
“So we are hustling and bustling,” she said.
Celmar said demand would likely be higher if KCT had more drivers.
KCT employs 22 drivers, 13 full time and nine part time. Celmar said much-larger Medina County, which has 32 drivers, completed about 60,000 rides in 2025. KCT completed 90,000 trips.
“We’re doing quite a few trips for the staff we have,” Celmar said. “But I think if we were to cover the demand, we would need to be back up to the 32. But we don’t have the funding for that.”
Caring Carts program going well
KCT launched its Caring Carts program in August to give riders a place to secure groceries.
“This was a solution to an issue that we’ve had over the years where if people get a large amount of groceries or a food distribution, there’s nowhere to secure it on the bus,” Celmar said. “So then we have to limit how much people can get.”
Some transit systems give free rides to grocery shoppers, and others use carts, Celmar said. KCT chose a hybrid approach and gave carts to some regular riders who shop or pick up food distributions.
“That’s a stipulation: You have to be a regular rider that is going to get shopping and food distributions,” she said.
Occasional riders also can use a cart on the bus, Celmar said. The program is going well.
“It just eliminates one of those other little barriers that we had that would cause issues,” she said.
Advertising to offset lost federal funds
KCT is preparing to sell advertising on bus windows to help replace lost revenue. Federal funding fell to $350,000 from $1 million.
“Basically, your windows become a driving billboard,” Celmar said. “The other advantage to the windows is that it keeps the buses a little cooler. It blocks some of those sun rays, because it can be a little bit like a greenhouse in there sometimes.”
The inside back of each bus also offers ad space that reaches a different audience than exterior ads, she said.
Celmar said exterior ads offer strong exposure because KCT buses run frequently on Coshocton Avenue.
“Plus, we’re all over the county. A billboard is stationary,” she said.
Businesses also can sponsor a free fare day for in-county riders. KCT would promote the sponsorship on social media and on its buses.
Phone hours under review
KCT is evaluating its phone hours because of staffing, Celmar said. Phones currently are open from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, and from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays.
Other transit systems that responded to a KCT survey mostly keep scheduling lines open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. or 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“It’s something we’re still researching and considering as we’re having some shifting and changing in the dispatch room,” Celmar said. “We’re just making sure that we’re efficient and effective with how many people are in there and what we’re doing.”
On-demand riders frequently cancel in the morning, and KCT must balance phone hours against its ability to fill those gaps, she said.
KCT has long required a live person to answer the phone as part of its high standards.
“But we also have to look at it budget-wise, reality and what is sustainable, because we can’t always have a person readily available,” Celmar said.
New program for nonprofits
Celmar is exploring a program that would accept donations from nonprofit organizations and offer free fares to riders involved with those groups. She said she can pool the contributions to draw matching federal dollars.
Organizations interested in the program can contact Celmar at (740) 392-7433 or bethanycelmar@knoxcountytransit.com.
