Transit director: summer ridership rising, night‑bus awarded by MORPC; county seeks drivers

Bethany Sommer, the county’s transit director, told the Knox County Board of Commissioners on June 30 that demand shifts in summer have increased group trips and overall use of fixed routes.

“For May, our total trip count was 5,829 trips,” Sommer said. “And for June so far we have 6,611.” She said many of the June trips are group trips that take riders to community destinations such as pools and shopping areas and that route ridership remains strong — “having over 1,200 trips every month on those.”

Sommer described local ridership concentrations near Taylor Road and Fallen Avenue apartment stops and said the routes have taken some pressure off demand‑response service. She said the department plans to do more marketing in the fall and is considering adding one or two stops in residential areas to improve access to the Bishop and Avenue area.

The director also announced the transit agency received an award from MORPC, the Mid‑Ohio Regional Planning Commission, for a mobility initiative tied to the night bus service. “It is for the night bus, seeing that we were one of the first ones to get to the scene of nighttime transportation for the workforce,” Sommer said, noting other systems have since followed the program’s model.

Commissioners and staff congratulated the transit team, and Sommer credited drivers and schedulers for the service’s success. She said full‑time driver positions are posted to replace staff leaving for education opportunities. “We just found out last week that my night bus driver is going to pursue her master’s degree,” she said, adding the night shift runs about 5 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Sommer encouraged applicants to review the county website for job postings and said transit will reassess stop locations and marketing in September. The board did not take formal action on the transit report; the update was presented for information and planning.