Knoxville Area Transit (KAT) is the operator of

public transportation Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...

. Twenty-five routes operate. Service on KAT routes operate weekdays and Saturdays with routes 11, 12, 20, 22, 23, 31, 33, 34 and 41 and 42 offering Sunday service. All routes, except for routes 13,16, 19, 44 and 90 start at the Knoxville Station in Downtown. The Knoxville Trolley is a free shuttle service which provides service to the university and the downtown area.Knoxville Area Transit Trolley Lines
/ref> KAT formerly operated the transit service for the University of Tennessee, known as The T.The T - the University of Tennessee's transportation system, operated KAT
/ref> In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .

History

Public transportation in Knoxville dates back to 1876 when the first street cars of the Knoxville Street Railway Company were pulled by horses and mules along tracks on Gay Street. Since then, the transit system has undergone considerable changes, beginning in 1890 with the conversion from animal-drawn to electric-powered streetcars. In 1910, the system serviced 11 million passengers each year on 42 miles of track, introducing buses to serve the streetcar system's feeder routes in 1929. By the late 1940s, the system had mainly switched from electric streetcars to all buses, with electric streetcars making their last run in 1947. Later, in 1958, a bus service to the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...

was added to the system. The bus service continued to get upgrades, with air-conditioned GMC buses added to the Knoxville transit fleet in 1972. In the 1980s and 1990s, the Knoxville transit system went through some internal changes, first moving into a new facility on Magnolia Avenue in 1989 and then changing its name from "K-Trans" to "Knoxville Area Transit (KAT)" in 1995. From the 90s onward, the KAT system continued to upgrade, with a focus on environmental responsibility, beginning its Clean Fuels Program with the introduction of propane-powered vehicles in 2003. The next year, the KAT system was named North American Transit System of the Year by the

American Public Transportation Association The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is a nonprofit group of approximately 1,500 public and private sector member organizations that promotes and advocates for the interests of the public transportation industry in the United S ...

. In 2010, the transit system again changed facilities, moving its center of operations to the John J. Duncan Jr. Knoxville Station. In 2014, KAT introduced three hybrid vehicles into its regular fleet. Beginning in March 2020, all fares are free and riders must wear masks upon boarding, in addition to rear door boarding. Fare collections resumed in February 2021; all busses will have driver shields to minimize interaction. Around Mid-2021 KAT has received a few 100% electric vehicles. These vehicles are New Flyer XE35's street numbered 3501-3512. (3511 is uncertain at this moment due to an accident involving the vehicle) Around May 2022, KAT has ended the mask mandate and passengers are no longer required to wear a mask. KAT is planning on redesigning the network in 2023.

Routes

Regular Knoxville area routes

Lines with asterisks (*) denote lines that operate daily.

Gameday Shuttles

KAT offers special shuttles for football games, which operate solely on specific dates. All lines terminate at

Neyland Stadium Neyland Stadium ( ), is a sports stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. It serves primarily as the home of the Tennessee Volunteers football team, but is also used to host large conventions and has been a site for several National Foot ...

. These lines are assigned the special "51" designator.

Knoxville Trolley Lines

The LIFT

KAT offers Paratransit LIFT service for those persons who are unable to use regular fixed-route buses. The LIFT is by reservation only, and you must be certified by KAT to use the service.

Hours

KAT buses operate 6:15 a.m. until 9:15. Monday through Saturday except for routes 11,12,22,31 and 41 which run till 11:15p.m.. Route 42 operates until 10:15p.m. Sunday Service is from 8:15 a.m. until 5:15 p.m. KAT does not operate on the following holidays: New Years Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Sunday schedule is in effect on Martin Luther King Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, the day before Christmas and the day after Thanksgiving. As of January 2, 2020 the following routes offer 7-day service: 11, 12, 17, 20, 22, 23, 31, 33, 34, 41, and 42. As of August 29,2022 because of staff shortage route 10 and 19 were temporary suspended while most routes were cut back on times.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Bus transportation in Tennessee Transportation in Knox County, Tennessee Transportation in Knoxville, Tennessee 1967 establishments in Tennessee