Blog: City Blog

Try Transit Week Continues: New Buses, Renovated East Superstop!

Knoxville Area Transit's newly upgraded East Superstop was officially dedicated with a ribbon-cutting this afternoon.

It's a happy day for KAT and the 32,000 passengers who ride the Magnolia, MLK and Burlington buses each month. The Kirkwood Street Superstop improvements include new pavement, sidewalks and shelters, with landscaping to be added this fall, when temperatures cool.

Superstops are locations outside of downtown where two or more routes meet, allowing for easy transfers between routes to go to different parts of Knoxville. People riding the 31, 33 and 34 bus routes enjoy time-saving transfer options and are better connected to more neighborhoods and retail and entertainment destinations.

Mayor Madeline Rogero, City Council members, and Knoxville Transportation Authority and KAT leaders touted the citywide steps being taken to make transit even more comfortable, easy and convenient. KAT provides 3 million rides each year and logs 2.6 million road miles.

Mayor Rogero praised the outstanding professionalism and dedication of KAT's 170 operators, calling them stewards of their passengers but also of the larger communities they serve. Sometimes, the Mayor said, that can mean helping someone in distress. Other times, it simply means "delivering a smile and a few kind words when it really matters the most."

To get to the East Superstop ribbon-cutting, Mayor Rogero and City Council members Marshall Stair, Finbarr Saunders and Daniel Brown rode one of KAT's six new low-floor buses from Knoxville Station. These smaller buses will serve neighborhood fixed routes, and they provide easier access for riders with disabilities.

Try Transit Week continues tomorrow with Free Rides Friday, using Google Transit!

To introduce KAT’s new Google Trip Planner, everybody is encouraged to try transit for free, planning their trip using Google Transit on KAT’s website, www.katbus.com, or from Google Maps directly. Rides on the KAT system will be fare-free all day Friday.

New shelters are among the improvements to the East Superstop.

Posted by evreeland On 14 July, 2016 at 4:27 PM