CAT staff recommend new software and East Knoxville microtransit pilot; procurement to begin soon

City of Knoxville transit staff briefed the board on a study examining integration of microtransit with ADA paratransit and recommended immediate procurement of a modern scheduling platform to support the model.

The director of transit said the study (conducted with Banesh, CAT, the City TPO and Justice Knox) identified five potential microtransit zones—northeast, east, south, west and northwest—and ranked East Knoxville as the strongest candidate for initial deployment. "East Knoxville emerged as the highest ranked zone overall," the director said, noting the pilot would be designed to complement, not replace, fixed-route service.

Staff emphasized technology as the highest-priority recommendation: the current software cannot dynamically assign vehicle capacity, support real-time scheduling and provide needed analytics. Procurement for a modern platform will be issued in the coming week. Staff also said procurement and implementation of the platform are prerequisites to launching microtransit and that the study recommends an East Zone pilot recommendation to the board in December 2026 or January 2027, with an aggressive target for implementation and a pilot zone launch goal of May 1, 2027.

Operational details discussed included mixed on-demand and interzone trips, potential vehicle counts (the East zone study suggested three vehicles in peak service), preliminary ridership estimates (staff said the East zone could see roughly 5,000 or more trips per month), coordination with ADA paratransit (some ADA trips could be accommodated by accessible microtransit), and fare integration questions to be resolved. Staff said some pilot support will come from an Attain grant (Vanderbilt-led partnership) and that staff will continue pursuing federal, state and local funding.

The presentation also announced a staffing addition: Lucy Bolan has been hired as mobility planner, with an October 5 start date; the role will focus on data analytics, service improvements and policies to support integration. Board members asked about fares, same-day scheduling and software options; staff said a formal procurement should attract several established vendors and reiterated that current lift schedule changes have already improved efficiency.

The board indicated support and posed follow-up questions; staff will return with a formal recommendation for the East Zone pilot and a procurement timeline.