We are pleased to share some big news – Knoxville was awarded a $200,000 grant through the Rides to Wellness program of the Federal Transit Administration!

Knoxville Area Transit will manage the award, building a program to improve access to healthcare for Knoxville residents.

The FTA grant will fund a project between KAT and the 2-1-1 call center to create a single point of contact that will help older adults, people with disabilities, and others access transit to take them to medical appointments. The project will improve local coordination of transit and healthcare services by training 2-1-1 staff, medical providers, and residents on how to use KAT buses. 

TPO and MPC staff assisted KAT in the grant application by identifying the population to be served by the new program. Local areas with high priority populations, those neighborhoods with greatest social and economic need, were first identified during the Plan East Tennessee initiative. Among the challenges faced by priority populations is limited access to quality healthcare. KAT’s newly funded effort will be a great step in tackling local healthcare barriers.