Tag Archive for: #kartstransportation

TownTalk: Uber-Type Service Will Replace Henderson’s Around Town Shuttle

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Henderson’s Around Town Shuttle worked well for a good long time, but KARTS Executive Director Randy Cantor said it’s time for an upgrade to a more efficient concept that is designed more like the rideshare Uber than a city bus line with set stops.

Cantor, who has been in the KARTS role for about a year, said the four-county service area can be challenging. There are many employees driving many vehicles across a large geographical area, he said on Monday’s TownTalk. He assured rural clients that their services would continue as they have been – residents need only call 252.438.2573 at least 48 hours in advance to arrange transportation for doctor visits or other appointments.

But the closed-loop Around Town Shuttle that had run in Henderson is being replaced by an on-demand group of vehicles that clients can schedule by calling the KARTS dispatcher or by using their Smart phone or app.

Right now, KARTS as a whole operates on a cash-only basis, said KARTS Finance Manager Tonya Moore. But when the new micro transit concept kicks in, payment will then be possible with a card or with a phone app.

Cantor said changing the model has nothing to do with how KARTS is operating and everything to do with providing the best and most efficient service possible to clients. He said he hoped that round-trip fares for the Henderson service would be in the $10 range, but setting the price is not up to him or KARTS.

KARTS gets state and federal funding, and counties also contribute, but it’s never enough to fully cover expenses. Moore said the Around Town Shuttle had cost $1 every time a rider used the shuttle. The once robust ridership, however, had dwindled to about 300 rides a month. Cantor said using an on-demand service would be more efficient than having a shuttle drive around Henderson in a circle five days a week, eight hours a day, 40 hours a week.

Since the ability to call and arrange transportation exists and stressing that the Around Town Shuttle was only one aspect of KARTS, Cantor agreed that there is not really a gap in coverage.

The Around Town Shuttle stopped running June 30.

The newer style transportation offering may be available in as few as a couple of months.

CLICK PLAY!

TownTalk 5-11-21; KARTS Provides Key Service To Rural Residents

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Irene Johnson, executive director of KARTS discusses the transportation services offered by the agency, the effects of Covid-19 and the need for drivers.

Johnson stressed Kerr Area Rural Transportation Authority operates with a “safety first” approach to everything.

For Broadcast Audio Click Play. Written story below.

 

The term “public transportation” may conjure up images of crowded buses headed across a busy commercial district in a large city, but rural areas have public transportation services that help people get to medical appointments or complete errands in town.

In Vance, Franklin, Granville and Warren counties, 55 KARTS buses travel the country roads to pick up rural residents who rely on public transportation.

KARTS, or Kerr Area Rural Transportation Authority, has been serving the four-county area since 1983, said Irene Johnson, KARTS executive director. She told John C. Rose Tuesday on Town Talk that she wants to spread the word about KARTS.

Anyone who needs a ride to get a COVID-19 vaccine can ride for free, Johnson said. “We will make that possible at no cost” to the rider, she said. Just call KARTS at 252.438.2573 after scheduling the vaccine appointment.

Johnson said KARTS buses are on the road Monday through Saturday, and some drivers begin their shifts behind the wheel by 2:30 a.m. Many riders go to dialysis centers she said, and appointments there start as early as 4 a.m.

But KARTS buses take riders to Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, too. A scheduler can provide details about schedules and fare costs. Visit www.kartsnc.com for a breakdown of roundtrip fares. A roundtrip fare between 1-10 miles costs $8; a roundtrip fare between 11-20 miles is $10.

Those Around the Town shuttles that scurry throughout Vance County are KARTS buses, too. Johnson said there are designated stops for those shuttles, which generally run between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

COVID-19 restrictions created extra steps for KARTS, including sanitizing machines for the vehicles when they’re off the road, as well adding hand sanitizer stations on each bus. Masks are required to board the bus, and drivers have extras for anyone who needs one.

In addition to transporting people to their medical appointments and grocery shopping, Johnson said KARTS also takes people to work. She said at least four buses deliver workers daily to their jobs at Revlon in Oxford. Johnson estimated that those 55 buses are handling an average of 400 appointments a day, down from as many as 700 at one time.

KARTS, like many other rural transport agencies across the state, need qualified drivers. “We’re comfortable at 400 (trips), but we could use 20 drivers right now,” she said.

Drivers must be at least 21 years old and pass a background check and a drug screen.

“You’ve got to be someone who likes people,” she noted. “The easy part is being behind the wheel – you may be the only person they see all day.”

(KARTS is an advertising client of WIZS.  This article and audio are not paid ads.)