Addressing Public Transportation in the Greater Knoxville Area

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• Addressing Public Transportation in the Greater
  Knoxville Area

Branching Out
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Our Issue

• Traffic in the Greater Knoxville area
• Construction challenges
• Congestion during rush hour
• Farragut, Oak Ridge, Solway
• Rising Gas Prices
• 3.89 (June 13, 2008 _at_Shell in Solway)
• When we first started this slide, gas was 3.77
• Population seeking Alternatives

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Survey

• Have you ever used public transportation in
  Knoxville or other major cities?
• If a public transportation system was available
  in the greater Knoxville area, would you be
  supportive?
• Would you as an individual be willing to ride a
  bus if it came to your area? Why?
• How do you feel about the safety of bus systems
  and the bus stations?
• Do you have any concerns or comments about a
  public transit system?

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Survey Results
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Environmental Benefits

• Individual cars produce harmful pollutants
• NOX
• SOX
• Individual cars can produce as much as 11,828
  pounds of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
• Knoxville has poor air quality
• Code Orange (recently)

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Alternatives

• Car pooling
• Mass Transportation
• Buses
• Trains

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Car pooling

• Pros
• Saves Gas and Money
• Fewer Cars on Roads

• Cons
• No HOV lanes
• Hard to find travel companions
• Safety

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Buses or Rail?

• Buses

• Rail

• KAT system is already effective in downtown
  Knoxville and could easily be expanded.
• Bus rapid transit may be installed in the future.

• Can sustain a greater number of passengers.
• More efficient and timely.
• People prefer rail over buses.

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Mass Transportation-Busing

• Pros

• Cons

• Cheaper alternative to personal vehicles
• Bus ticket from Oak Ridge to Knoxville is 2
• Cheaper with student and senior discounts
• Free Trolley System in Downtown Knoxville
• Better for environment
• Bus rapid transit can be implemented for greater
  convenience.

• Inconvenient
• Y-12 employees have access to KAT Express, but it
  does not work with their irregular 4-10 schedule.
  
• Long Headways
• Limited Routes
• Not advertised
• Poor public perception

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Light Rail

• Pros
• More efficient
• Moves more people
• More attractive for tourists and visitors.

• Cons
• Expensive
• No infrastructure from Oak Ridge to Knoxville
• 300 million a mile for Charlotte infrastructure

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Solutions

• Car pooling
• HOV lanes
• Car pooling Organizations
• Slugging in DC
• Busing
• More routes
• Shorter headways
• Light Rail
• Implement after gathering enough support

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Our Proposal

• No single action will fix this problem.
• We decided that in order to ever implement a
  light rail system we would have to change public
  opinion by starting small with installing a HOV
  lane which carpoolers and the KAT system could
  use.

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HOV Lane Action Plan

• Talk to TN Department of Transportation
• Study I-40
• Gather support from carpooling organizations
• Obtain funding

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Busing Action Plan

• Add more options to Oak Ridge from Knoxville.
• Talk to ORNL, Y-12, and other organizations in
  Oak Ridge to specify needs for public transit
• Gather funding through City of Knoxville for more
  KAT transit
• Clean up current buses and stations
• Get more community support

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Smart Trips

• Knoxville is encouraging alternatives including
• Carpooling
• Biking
• Walking
• Public Transportation
• Our Conclusion A step in the right direction,
  but cant be expanded to Greater Knoxville area
  because it requires strong public sector support.

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Light Rail Action Plan

• Because light rail would be so difficult to
  install, we recommend waiting until Knoxville has
  a larger need in public transit.
• Action Plan
• Talk to government officials in Knoxville
• Joe Hultquist, City Councilman and light rail
  advocate
• Talk to railroad industry including CSX and
  Norfolk Southern to see if their current rails
  could be used for light rail.
• Gather funding

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Works Cited 

• Pictures in Order
• http//maps.mwcog.org/CCRSLiveSite/images/spotligh
  t20pics/05_gx_carpool_lane_500.jpg
• http//www.theseattletraveler.com/dont-be-a-hov-la
  ne-violator/
• http//eerc.ra.utk.edu/etcfc/designation.html
• http//www.gmtma.org/rideshare.htm
• http//www.offthemark.com/search-results/key/carpo
  ol/
• http//www.youcancarshare.com/car-sharing-carpool/
  sharing-for-more/
• http//mec.en.alibaba.com/product/50421186/5228626
  5/Railway_rolling_stocks/Light_rail_vehicle.html
• www.epa.org
• Internet/Paper Articles
• Blackeby, Mike. Local Transit Demand Keeps
  Rising. June 11, 2008.
• Karush, Sarah. Gas Prices Cause Mass Transit
  Surge. June 3, 2008.
• Karush Sarah. Gas Prices Feed Public Transit.
• Marcum, Ed. Regional Planners Looking for
  Transportation Ideas. May 30, 2008.
• McNeal, Jill. Gas Prices Drive More People to
  Ride Knoxville Busses. May 15, 2008.
• Vent, Jordan. More Commuters take Alternative
  Routes. May 25, 2008.
• Interviews
• Hultquist, Joe. (Knoxville City Councilman)
• McGinnis, Cindy (KAT general manager)