Public transportation provides essential mobility options for veterans. And veterans help keep public transit rolling by working for public transportation systems around the country.
Please read more on this blog post from Voices for Public Transit.
Thank you again to all the brave veterans who are keeping Americans safe at home and abroad.
The Salina area has a wide array of transportation services to meet the needs of its citizens. Everything from general public fixed route bus service, paratransit, taxi services, and more. Read more to find out what service best works for you:
https://salinacitygo.com/transportation-services-2/
For Immediate Release
September 7, 2017
Salina, Kansas – OCCK Transportation has scheduled a ribbon cutting for 81 Connection on Friday, September 15th at 11:00 a.m. at 340 N. Santa Fe, Salina.
81 Connection is the new regional fixed route bus service that runs from Belleville to Salina, three times daily, Monday through Friday. The route officially started on September 5th and has stops in Belleville, Concordia, Highway 24 Junction, Minneapolis and Salina.
Members of the Kansas Department of Transportation will be in attendance with a short speech by Catherine Patrick, State Transportation Engineer. The Salina Chamber of Commerce will facilitate the ribbon cutting.
The general public is encouraged to attend.
For more information about OCCK, Inc., visit www.occk.com. For more information about CityGo and OCCK Transportation, visit www.salinacitygo.com. For more information about 81 Connection, visit www.ksrides.org, or, contact the OCCK Transportation Center at 785-826-1583.
August 28, 2017
Salina, Kansas – The new fixed route bus service from Belleville to Salina, 81 Connection, will start running on Tuesday, September 5, 2017.
For the first 90 days of operation, complimentary fares will be offered for all riders.
The 81 Connection bus service will have three bi-directional trips each day, Monday through Friday. The first route will start in Belleville at 6:45 a.m., then head south on Highway 81 to three stops in Concordia, a stop at the Highway 24/Highway 81 junction, a stop in Minneapolis and stop at 7th and Walnut and Walmart in Salina and then head back to north to the same stops. This route will do this loop twice and finish in Belleville around 5:40 p.m. each day.
A second route will leave Salina at 1:00 p.m. and head north on Highway 81 to the same stop in Minneapolis, the stop at the Highway 24/Highway 81 junction, three stops in Concordia and the stop in Belleville, before heading back to Salina with the same stops. The bus will finish in Salina around 6:00 p.m. each day.
The official times are here:
| Bus Stop | SB Link 1* | SB Link 2* | SB Link 3* |
| Belleville—Casey’s | 6:45 a.m. | 1:00 p.m. | 3:41 p.m. |
| Concordia—Washington & 7th | 7:10 a.m. | 1:25 p.m. | 4:06 p.m. |
| Concordia—OCCK, Inc. | 7:20 a.m. | 1:35 p.m. | 4:16 p.m. |
| Concordia—Walmart | 7:30 a.m. | 1:45 p.m. | 4:26 p.m. |
| Highway 24 Junction | 7:49 a.m. | 2:04 p.m. | 4:45 p.m. |
| Minneapolis—Casey’s | 8:16 a.m. | 2:31 p.m. | 5:12 p.m. |
| Salina—7th & Walnut | 8:49 a.m. | 3:04 p.m. | 5:45 p.m. |
| Salina—Walmart | 9:01 a.m.** | 3:16 p.m.** | 5:57 p.m. |
| Bus Stop | NB Link 1* | NB Link 2* | NB Link 3* |
| Salina—7th & Walnut | n/a | 1:00 p.m. | n/a |
| Salina—Walmart | 9:26 a.m. | 1:17 p.m. | 3:41 p.m. |
| Minneapolis—Casey’s | 9:59 a.m. | 1:50 p.m. | 4:14 p.m. |
| Highway 24 Junction | 10:26 a.m. | 2:17 p.m. | 4:41 p.m. |
| Concordia—Walmart | 10:45 a.m. | 2:36 p.m. | 5:00 p.m. |
| Concordia—OCCK, Inc. | 10:55 a.m. | 2:46 p.m. | 5:10 p.m. |
| Concordia—Washington & 7th | 11:05 a.m. | 2:56 p.m. | 5:20 p.m. |
| Belleville—Casey’s | 11:25 a.m. | 3:16 p.m.** | 5:40 p.m. |
*SB stands for Southbound. NB stands for Northbound.
**Arrival time. The bus will be emptied and secured during a 20 minute driver break.
Poles and signs have been installed at the stop locations.
The 81 Connection will be operated and managed by OCCK Transportation. Initial funding for the project came from the Earl Bane Foundation, who provide the 30% local match, as well as the Kansas Department of Transportation, who provided the remaining 70%.
“We are ready to get this route started for north central Kansas,” said Michelle Griffin, Mobility Manager for the region. “We have been working really hard the last few months to get all of the necessary pieces in place to provide this service. We hope people are as excited about the opportunity as we are. We are looking forward to working with these communities to enhance transportation options.”
For more information about the 81 Connection and Kansas Rides, visit www.ksrides.org. For more information about OCCK, Inc., visit www.occk.com. For more information about CityGo and OCCK Transportation, visit www.salinacitygo.com. Or, contact Michelle Griffin, Mobility Manager (mgriffin@occk.com), or the OCCK Transportation Center at 785-826-1583.
August 8, 2017
Salina, Kansas – The bus stop times and locations for the 81 Connection fixed route service from Salina to Belleville have been announced.
The Kansas Rides 81 Connection will serve Highway 81 locations from Belleville to Salina with a tentative start date of September 5, 2017.
The 81 Connection bus service will have three bi-directional trips each day, Monday through Friday. The first route will start in Belleville at 6:45 a.m., then head south on Highway 81 to three stops in Concordia, a stop at the Highway 24/Highway 81 junction, a stop in Minneapolis and stop at 7th and Walnut and Walmart in Salina and then head back to north to the same stops. This route will do this loop twice and finish in Belleville around 5:40 p.m. each day.
A second route will leave Salina at 1:00 p.m. and head north on Highway 81 to the same stop in Minneapolis, the stop at the Highway 24/Highway 81 junction, three stops in Concordia and the stop in Belleville, before heading back to Salina with the same stops. The bus will finish in Salina around 6:00 p.m. each day.
The official times are here:
Poles and signs will be installed in the coming weeks at each of the stop locations.
The 81 Connection will be operated and managed by OCCK Transportation. Initial funding for the project came from the Earl Bane Foundation, who provide the 30% local match, as well as the Kansas Department of Transportation, who provided the remaining 70%.
“We are really excited about starting the 81 Connection and this is one more step in making that happen,” said Michelle Griffin, Mobility Manager for the region. “The goal of public transportation is to be efficient, affordable and effective. With this route, we hope to meet the needs of the citizens in north central Kansas who need to be able to travel from county to county for whatever reason.”
For more information about the 81 Connection and Kansas Rides, visit www.ksrides.org. For more information about OCCK, Inc., visit www.occk.com. For more information about CityGo and OCCK Transportation, visit www.salinacitygo.com. Or, contact Michelle Griffin, Mobility Manager (mgriffin@occk.com), or the OCCK Transportation Center at 785-826-1583.
District 2: North Central Kansas
Keep up on what’s happening with KDOT projects within the region on their website: http://www.ksdot.org/divoperat/district2.asp
Other regions are available as well.
The idea that mass transit helps fight obesity makes intuitive sense. Taking the bus or train usually means walking to your final destination, thus providing an automatic period of pound-shedding daily exercise.
Read more here: https://psmag.com/news/subway-really-is-the-key-to-healthy-living
For the first time since 1918, a total solar eclipse will be passing over the transcontinental United States of America from coast to coast on August 21, 2017! Lucky for us, the path of totality will be slicing through the northeast corner of our state!
Read more here:
The Central Prairie North region offers a wide variety of fascinating museums, outdoor adventures and evidence of creativity and innovation. Follow the Post Rock Scenic Byway where miles of stone fence posts stand as a tribute to the early settlers. A mixture of farmland, rolling hills, and man-made lakes, central Kansas is a transition zone between the hilly east and the western high plains. Be sure to print the downloadable PDF before you hit the road!
See the full story here: https://www.travelks.com/things-to-do/yellow-brick-road-trips/central-prairie-north/
As many as 95 percent of trips in big cities could be shared with no more than a 5-minute inconvenience for riders, according to a recent report co-authored by Carlo Ratti of MIT’s SENSEable City Lab.
Back in 2010, the Albany Times Union did some interesting reporting to delve into why New York State residents seemed incapable adopting a sharing mindset when it comes to driving. (Granted, 2010 was before the Uber craze, but even that kind of ride-hailing more often has a taxi feel than a carpooling one.) The paper’s own surveying found very few people carpooling and this article gives a range of the unlimited excuses people can make for their lack of enthusiasm about sharing.
In conversations about mobility these days, sharing is understood as a necessary part of the solution for fixing overwhelming demand on transportation systems. Even (and especially) car companies are beginning to lean heavily on shared rides or shared vehicles as an important component in their future share of the transportation market.
Read the full article here.