Knoxville Area Transit

Knoxville Area Transit
Founded	1967
Headquarters	301 Church Avenue
Locale	Knoxville, Tennessee
Service type	transit bus, paratransit
Alliance	Knoxville Community Actions Committee (CAC)
Routes	23
Stops	1100+
Destinations	around 200-250
Hubs	2
Stations	1
Lounge	66
Fleet	Approx. 100
Daily ridership	8,500 (weekdays, Q2 2024)
Annual ridership	2,332,800 (2023)
Fuel type	Gasoline, Diesel, Hybrid-Electric, Electric
Director	Aquayla Maxwell
Website	katbus.com

Knoxville Area Transit (KAT) is the operator of public transportation in Knoxville, Tennessee. 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.^[3] KAT formerly operated the transit service for the University of Tennessee, known as The T.^[4] In 2023, the system had a ridership of 2,332,800, or about 8,500 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.

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 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. 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.^[5]

Routes

Regular Knoxville area routes

RTE #^[6]	ROUTE NAME	INNER TERMINAL	OUTER TERMINAL	EXTRA
1	DOWNTOWN CONNECTOR
10	SEQUOYAH HILLS	KNOXVILLE STATION BAY S
11	KINGSTON PIKE/SUTHERLAND	KNOXVILLE STATION BAY O	WALMART
12	WESTERN	KNOXVILLE STATION BAY E
16	CEDAR BLUFF	KNOXVILLE STATION BAY C
17	SUTHERLAND/BEARDEN	KNOXVILLE STATION BAY O	FOREST PARK
20	CENTRAL STREET	KNOXVILLE STATION BAY G	NORTHWEST CROSSING
22	BROADWAY	KNOXVILLE STATION BAY N	JACKSBORO AND ESSARY
23	MILLERTOWN	KNOXVILLE STATION BAY L	CHARLIE HAUN AT WASHINGTON	-WEEKDAYS ONLY.
24	INSKIP/BREDA	KNOXVILLE STATION BAY L
31	MAGNOLIA	KNOXVILLE STATION BAY F	BURNS AT ASHEVILLE
32	DANDRIDGE	KNOXVILLE STATION BAY I	GOLDEN AGE RETIREMENT VLGE
34	BURLINGTON	KNOXVILLE STATION BAY H	KIRKWOOD SUPERSTOP
37	MORINGSIDE-RIVERSIDE	KNOXVILLE STATION BAY D
40	SOUTH KNOXVILLE	KNOXVILLE STATION BAY R	KROGER SOUTH
41	CHAPMAN HWY	KNOXVILLE STATION BAY P	WALMART SOUTH
42	HOSPITAL	KNOXVILLE STATION BAY M	UT HOSPITAL
44	UNIVERSITY PARK APARTMENTS	UNIVERSITY PARK APTS	UT TRANSFER POINT	-WEEKDAYS ONLY.
45	VESTAL	KNOXVILLE STATION BAY S	KROGER SOUTH

Gameday Shuttles

KAT offers special shuttles for football games, which operate solely on specific dates. All lines terminate at Neyland Stadium. These lines are assigned the special "51" designator.^[7]

	Outer Terminus
51D	Old City
51E	Market Square / Krutch Park

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 11:15p.m.. Monday through Saturday. Sunday Service is from 8:15 a.m. until 8:15 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.

Beginning August 26,2024 KAT will change service again. The following routes will exist: 1,10,11,12,15,16,17,20,22,23,24,31,32,34,37,40,41,42,44,45. All routes except 10,23 and 44 operate 7 days a week.