Tuesday was KAT Transit Driver Appreciation Day. Passengers throughout the City wrote thank-you notes to and took "safe selfies" with their favorite transit operators, and Mayor Madeline Rogero and Transit Director Dawn Distler met with drivers and mechanics and thanked them for their caring, conscientious efforts.

KAT’s operators do so much. For starters, they get us to where we need to be. They offer mobility. For some seniors and disabled residents, that’s literally a life-changing benefit.

KAT's 170 bus operators are skilled professionals – safety and dependability are always their top priorities.

And, as Distler and the Mayor told a group at Knoxville Station: There’s also the human element. KAT drivers deliver smiles and kind words.

KAT buses run more than 2.5 million miles a year, and they carry about 3 million passengers each year.

In recent months, KAT has expanded services along 13 routes – offering later weekday evening bus runs, increasing the frequency of Saturday routes, and offering new Sunday services.

In January, KAT added Wi-Fi connectivity to all its buses. From January 11 through March 15, KAT passengers have logged on 1.9 million times. Wow - that’s almost 1 million log-ons each month!