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	10,200 (weekdays, Q3 2024)[1]
Annual ridership	2,332,800 (2023)[2]
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 10,200 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024.

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]

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]

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.

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.

• List of bus transit systems in the United States

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Knoxville Area Transit.

• Official website