Americans isolated at home in the early months of the pandemic, but millions of essential workers needed to be on the job. This blog follows the lives of critical workers as they ride public transportation to reach work and help our communities.
Read more here: https://voicesforpublictransit.org/essential-connections-a-day-in-the-life-of-public-transportation-during-the-pandemic/
Check out this list for updates on closings and service reductions in public transit across the state.
Public transit in Kansas covers a wide range of services and miles. We drive north, south, east and west. We serve metro regions, small urban regions, big towns, little towns, and everything in between. We are proud of the work that we do and what we bring to Kansas. We literally “Connect Everyone to Everywhere.” Watch this video to see more.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law in 1990. The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. The purpose of the law is to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. The ADA gives civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, and religion. It guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations, employment, transportation, state and local government services, and telecommunications. The ADA is divided into five titles (or sections) that relate to different areas of public life
Tell your story. Watch this video for more information.
This list will continue to be updated if any other changes are necessary.
RideKC has selected Transit to be the official mobility app, allowing riders to plan their trip, track their ride in real time and make multimodal connections to bikeshare, scooters, Uber and Lyft.
Salina, Kansas – KANcycle, the bike share program of north central Kansas, may be looking for another provider following a recent announcement from Zagster.
OCCK, Inc. has been advised that Zagster, the company responsible for providing the bicycles for the KANcycle bike sharing program, had closed bike sharing in many locations across the country, including Wichita. OCCK has also been advised that Zagster is going out of business and will be liquidating its assets effective immediately. OCCK has not received a direct notification from the company.
The company sent an email to other partners earlier this week.
“We are disappointed by this recent turn of events,” said Michelle Griffin, Mobility Manager for north central Kansas. “Zagster closed down bike sharing at the end of March because of COVID-19, but we hoped that it was just temporary. KANcycle has been so successful and we know people are enjoying riding bikes. If this is true, we plan to have another bike share supplier soon.”
OCCK is in the process of researching and partnering with other vendors. Additional announcements will be made in the future once decisions are made.
KANcycle, a program of OCCK, provides north central Kansas with convenient, affordable access to bicycles as an easy, fun, healthy and eco-friendly means of transportation and recreation. Bike racks can be found in Salina, Minneapolis, Concordia, Belleville, Mankato, Beloit, Lincoln and Ellsworth. KANcycle is sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas.
OCCK, Inc. provides services in north central Kansas to anyone with any type of long or short-term disability, starting as early as birth and following people through their whole lives. OCCK provides an array of supports for success at home and in the community, including independent living skills and supports, employment and career training, Alzheimer’s supports, autism services, assistive technology, children’s services, transportation, specialized therapies, and home health care.
For more information about KANcycle, visit www.kancycle.org. For more information about OCCK, Inc., visit www.occk.com.
Public transit employees continue to work on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we want to continue to thank our #HeroesMovingHeroes.
Join in today, Thursday, May 21, and “#SoundTheHorn” to honor and say thank you to all public transportation employees working through the coronavirus outbreak. At 2:00 p.m. (CT) today, agencies are asked to simultaneously sound two one-second horn blasts from vehicles in service.
The first #SoundTheHorn event on April 17 was incredibly successful with nearly 150 public transit systems participating. Join in today and let’s see if we can top this number. Let’s be proud and loud!
This continuing effort is spearheaded by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), together with NJ Transit, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Amtrak, NYC Ferry, and other regional bus and ferry operators.
Salina, Kansas – Because of the COVID-19 outbreak, Zagster has made the difficult decision to suspend all bike rentals, including those in the KANcycle program operated by OCCK Transportation.
Locations impacted include 80 bikes at 16 rental stations in Salina, Minneapolis, Concordia, Belleville, Mankato, Beloit, Lincoln and Ellsworth.
It is understood that many riders use Zagster for essential functions like commuting to work or getting to stores for supplies, so this was not an easy decision that was made. However, at this time Zagster decided that it is necessary to prioritize the safety of their maintenance staff and other riders.
Zagster has created a FAQ page at https://www.zagster.com/covid-19-rider-faq to help answer any immediate questions riders may have.
Free fares are available for all other public transit services, including CityGo, 81 Connection, Paratransit and City of Abilene and will continue indefinitely.
CityGo buses are running 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., with no peaks, Monday through Friday, and 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday.
For regional paratransit and the City of Abilene public transportation, non-essential subscription rides will be suspended. Essential rides, those trips to work, medical appointments and those for nutrition (groceries, etc.), will be booked no more than 24-48 hours in advance and scheduled based on the number of drivers fit for duty.
81 Connection will run the regular morning route (SB Link 1 & NB Link 1), but will only run the Salina-Belleville-Salina (NB Link 3 & SB Link 3) route in the afternoon, each day Monday through Friday.
Services levels will continue to be adjusted as the situation warrants.
For more information about OCCK, Inc., visit www.occk.com. For more information about OCCK Transportation, visit www.salinacitygo.com. Or, contact the OCCK Transportation Center at 785-826-1583. For information about KANcycle, visit www.kancycle.org.
This list will continue to be updated if any other changes are necessary.