Lyon County Area Transportation is poised to end 2019 with slightly higher general ridership than last year — and it’s well on its way to expanding its reach beyond Kansas.
General ridership may top out around 41,000 this year, which would be slightly above last year’s mark. However, L-CAT is noticing a sharp spike in its regional ridership. Finance Officer Shane Brunner says regional numbers were slightly above 500 two years ago and jumped to near 700 last year.
Locally, L-CAT is shifting away from so-called demand service to a more route-based approach, although demand-based rides are still available for medical appointments or other urgent time-sensitive needs. L-CAT is developing a Downtown Express route, which would get downtown employees to places like Walmart or other places in the Industrial Road shopping corridor and back during the lunch hour.
Last week, Lyon County commissioners approved L-CAT’s nearly $880,000 grant request from the Kansas Department of Transportation for operations next year. Brunner says it’s a pivotal grant for L-CAT.
The KDOT grant will cover most of L-CAT’s expenses next year, although the department will have to shell out the full amount before getting nearly $650,000 in reimbursements. Included in that would be the purchase of a new “composite” bus to replace one nearing the 150,000-mile KDOT threshold, as well as a new van to allow for easier loading of wheelchairs for the regional routes.
For more information, call L-CAT at 343-4207 or go online to www.lyoncounty.org and click on Transportation under the Government drop-down tab. You can also find L-CAT by looking for Lyon County Area Transportation on Facebook.
