MOUNT VERNON — James Kilworth boarded Knox County Transit’s night bus on a frigid December night like he’s done every weekday for the past six months, headed to his third-shift job at Jeld Wen.
He was grateful for the warmth, as the temperatures were in the single digits with a wind chill.
“If it wasn’t for the night bus, I’d probably be walking the two miles to work. It’d be really cold,” he said. “My car broke, so I had to get rid of it. I just haven’t been able to get one yet.”
Kilworth schedules a ride on the regular Knox County Transit shuttle when his shift ends at 6:30 a.m. because the night bus only runs until 1 a.m.
In addition to its affordability, Kilworth appreciates the night bus because it offers transportation should he get sick at work.
“That happened once, and I had to leave at midnight. It was available for me to be able to get home, so that made it nice,” he said.
Knox County Transit launched the night bus program in February 2024 with a $200,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation.
The program focuses on providing transportation to second- and third-shift workers.
ODOT did not renew the grant, but the demand has not decreased, leaving the transit agency struggling to absorb the cost.
A unique service in a rural community
Taki Hofmann has ridden the night bus for the past eight months, heading to her Planet Fitness night shift.
“It makes a big difference without it,” she said. “I wouldn’t be able to get to work, pay my bills, and do everything I need to do; I would be walking in the cold.
“I always tell people it’s not a far drive to my work from where I live, but it’s a far walk,” she added.
Hofmann’s only form of transportation is the bus. She used to have a vehicle, but her partner was in a car accident while driving it.
The night bus is their backup plan. Her partner also takes the night bus to Ruby Tuesday.
Hofmann hails from a big city and said the night bus is an unusual amenity.
“It’s a service that’s really unique to Knox County. I think that without it, a lot of people here wouldn’t be able to be contributing members of our community as much because it allows people to get to and from work when they otherwise wouldn’t be able to.”
Taki Hofmann
“Everyone back home talks about how great it is that they have a bus that comes and takes us to work and picks us up,” she said.
‘I wouldn’t have a job’
Donna started working at the Goodwill store six years ago. She’s been riding the bus for several years, and started riding the night bus when her vehicle broke down.
For her, the night bus means everything.
“I wouldn’t have a job,” she said. “I don’t have anybody. My family doesn’t live here, and nobody lives out there where I live from work. There’s no carpool or anything.”
She summed up the program this way: “It helps people keep a job and support themselves.”
Jeremy (not Hofmann’s partner) started working at Ruby Tuesday last May and takes the night bus home from his day-shift job.
He has no vehicle and takes the KCT bus to work in the morning.
Fortunately, he has alternate transportation if the night bus should discontinue service, but it would be more difficult than public transit.
‘I don’t have to worry about how I’m getting home’
Michael Robinson has worked with AVI Foodsystems in Kenyon College’s Peirce Hall for 15 years.
He’s ridden the night bus since Knox County Transit launched it in 2024. Before that, he took the Kenyon shuttle.
Without a vehicle, public transit is his only means of transportation.
“Having the night bus means a lot. It means that I don’t have to worry about how I’m getting home,” he said. “And you can see some of Mount Vernon in the process, depending on where you live.”
Expanding employment opportunities
In 2023, employment accounted for 24% of KCT’s trips. Fueled by the second-shift demand, it jumped to 31% in 2024.
Employment now accounts for 40% of the transit agency’s ridership through April 2025.
KCT added a second night bus last year because of the high demand but recently had to cut back to one after a veteran driver left the agency.
“We do have more demand than we can fill at this point, but we are just watching the budget and watching the shifts on that,” Transit Director Bethany Celmar said.
Celmar plans to meet with manufacturers and food service entities that benefit from the program to determine whether they will sponsor the service.
She said the cost of the program is not astronomical, so it makes sense to continue the service.
“It’s extremely valuable,” she said. “All of these are workforce transportation trips, which is people contributing to our economy.”
Bobbi Kirch, employment manager for Knox DD, said the night bus definitely makes a difference.
“Prior to the night bus, those individuals who do not drive, and most of ours do not, wouldn’t even apply for second-shift jobs. It was taking so long to wait for a day shift,” she explained.
“Our job placement rate went up and people getting the jobs they want went up. So we are real appreciative of the night bus.”
Kirch said that initially, riders were limited to being close to the route.
“Then they expanded it to take you home. They [KCT] just really evolved the process since they started it,” she said.
Night bus supports local workforce
The bus runs from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Celmar said there are many cancellations and time changes for pick-ups and drop-offs, so KCT provides a cell phone for the riders to text the driver.
“We’ve just found that we need that flexibility. I don’t know if it’s people getting off early or shift changes at the last minute, but there seems to be a lot of that going on,” she said.
“It’s a very wonderful program, and I’m very glad we have it.”
Michael Robinson
Celmar said the transit agency does not have enough contract trips to provide the full local match needed to secure federal funding.
“It is something that we intend to continue as we have the funding, and it is something that’s valuable enough to incorporate into our operations and just seek the sponsorship to keep that local match that will keep us sustained,” Celmar said.
“This is a new strategy, seeking funding from folks that have a direct benefit in getting employees to and from work,” she said.
Walmart, Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Kenyon College, and Knox Community Hospital employees, among others, use the night bus.
The program also serves every nursing home, 11 manufacturers, and other businesses in the private sector.
Last November, Celmar told the Knox County commissioners she likes people using the night bus for employment.
“I think that’s what we want do. We want to see people be employed even if they don’t have transportation, they don’t have their own vehicles,” she said.
Knox County Transit is the state’s only transit agency offering this service. Officials with Franklin County’s COTA program and northeast Ohio transit officials have asked Celmar how to start a similar program.
Richland County Transit and the North End Community Improvement Collaborative received a $150,000 grant last year from the University of Minnesota’s Center for Transportation Studies to create a pilot program for late-evening and early-morning riders.
For more information on the night bus, contact Knox Area Transit at 740-392-7443.
