It’s been well over a month since Lyon County Area Transportation made a major shift in its services, and thus far, it appears ridership is very pleased with the operational changes.
That’s according to LCAT Director Shane Brunner, a recent guest of KVOE’s Morning Show who says he has yet to hear any negative feedback regarding the agency’s shift to on-demand rides back in July. Brunner adds that one statistic is on the rise since the shift, while another is seeing a decline.
In a previous interview with KVOE, Brunner had stated he believes Emporia is the “right size” for a move like this. During Monday’s Primetime Newsmaker, Brunner stated thus far, the slight increase in ridership and positive feedback have solidified this opinion.
LCAT has up to 11 vehicles on the road at any time, with transit vans operating Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays across Lyon County and minivans offering transport across Kansas and into neighboring states, along with the in-town buses.
With the on-demand service clearly meeting the needs of the public in the present, Brunner stated Monday that he also has “something up my sleeve” for the future. He would elaborate, saying the agency is in the process of putting together policies and procedures to act as a “Charter service.”
When asked what changes this would mean for current operations, Brunner stated it would obviously be “more work” as well as additional reporting to the state and communication with other state charter providers.
More information is available at the Lyon County website, lyoncountyks.gov, and on the Lyon County Area Transportation LCAT Facebook page.
