Northern Kentucky’s transit authority is rolling out proposed changes to its bus service in response to funding challenges and declining ridership. TANK is hosting an online public meeting Wednesday to discuss its new Transit Development Plan.
General Manager Gina Douthat says TANK began working on the plan last summer.
"We were looking at our network and trying to determine what changes we might want to see in the network over the next three to five years that would help us to create a sustainable budget and meet the needs of our customers and the riding public in Northern Kentucky," Douthat said.
TANK developed three possible network design options that included ideas like expanding on-demand service, cutting routes with low ridership, or creating a high-frequency, 15-minute, daily service between Covington, Newport and Cincinnati.
Douthat says after hearing public feedback, TANK decided against pursuing many of the major changes suggested.
"We're talking about kind of minor changes, because really what we heard is ‘quit changing our service,' " Douthat said. "People that ride transit like predictability. They like consistency, and every time we mess with it, it throws people off of their routine."
Douthat says TANK’s fixed route services will remain the backbone of its system.
"There will be a few routes that no longer go into Cincinnati, but it's not going to be a lot of routes," Douthat said. "We will have a few routes that have adjustments to their span of service."
TANK does not have plans to cut service to Dayton, Kentucky, or Bellevue, as it considered.
Douthat says people will likely see changes to the Southbank Shuttle, which runs between downtown Cincinnati, Covington, Newport and Bellevue.
"We are looking at making some pretty significant changes to the hours that that route operates," Douthat said. "That would probably be the first change that we make — and the most significant that we make — in the first year."
TANK will present the details of its plan during the public meeting Wednesday night. There will be time for people to give feedback and ask questions.
In February, TANK's Board of Directors will vote on the recommended plan. Douthat says if approved, the changes would be implemented over the next three years.
The soonest any changes would be implemented is July 2026, and any final route changes will be communicated to the public in advance.
How to attend
TANK will hold the live virtual public meeting on Zoom at 6 p.m. Jan. 28. Join via this link, or dial in to join by phone by calling 929-436-2866, and entering the meeting ID 854 9683 9881.
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