KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Knoxville City Council approved a plan to evaluate the Knoxville Area Transit system. Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon’s administration will contract with Alfred Benesch & Company to look into transportation gaps in the community and increase accessibility in the city.
“They’re taking a look at basically how can we improve or be more efficient with our Lyft services to see if we can’t commingle microtransit service,” Isaac Thorne, KAT Director of Transit, said. “We have a lot of areas where we don’t necessarily have transit service or transit deserts.”
Thorne said the goal is to improve transportation access to jobs and everyday needs. This is an extension of previous transportation efforts in the city dating back to August 2024. The system is known as “katConnect” and operates similarly to rideshare apps like Uber or Lyft. It connects passengers to fixed-route services…