Johnson County Transit to Expand Service

Good news from Johnson County Transit, a client I have been working with the past couple of months. On Nov. 6, 2008, they received approval for emergency funding to buy up to additional seven buses to handle increased ridership. A Fox 4 TV reporter called me, and I worked to get an interview set up with Chuck Ferguson of JCT, which ran on the evening broadcasts. The news release also generated coverage on KSHB-TV 41 and in the print media.

NEWS RELEASE


Release Date: Nov. 7, 2008

Contacts: Phil Detrixhe, Marketing Manager, (913) 782-2210 or Phil.Detrixhe@jocogov.org
Susan Pepperdine, Public Relations, (913) 262-7414 or susan@pepperdinepr.com


Commissioners Approve $2.45 Million in Funding
For Johnson County Transit to Expand Service

OLATHE, KAN. ... By a unanimous vote of 7-0 on Thursday, the Johnson County Board of Commissioners approved Johnson County Transit’s (JCT) emergency funding request for $2.45 million. The funding includes a one-time capital expense of $1.4 million to be used to purchase as many as seven additional buses, and $1.05 million transferred from the general fund to increase current operating hours by an additional 50 hours per day.

Currently The JO buses provide 254 hours of daily service – not enough to handle ridership that is at an all-time high. “Since January 2008 The JO has experienced unprecedented growth in ridership as well as requests for additional service, complaints regarding overcrowding and service delays,” explained JCT Transportation Director Alice M. Amrein in her briefing sheet presented to the commissioners. Safety and comfort have become a concern, with many routes operating under “standing room only” conditions, she reported.