Month: September 2024

TANK, Metro, Butler Co. Regional Transit Authority (BRCTA) and BLINK® are making it easier to experience the nation’s largest immersive light and art show with fare-free rides and direct access from Park and Ride locations to this year’s immersive art experience. In 2022, BLINK, illuminated by ArtsWave, successfully worked with TANK and Metro to provide nearly 185,000 free rides during the festival.

“This partnership is a win for everyone, in convenience, cost and energy efficiency,” said Justin Brookhart, Executive Director of BLINK. “We like to say ‘Don’t BLINK and drive,’ because this festival is meant to be experienced walking through the streets of downtown and NKY. Free rides from Metro and TANK make that easier, and enhance the BLINK experience for everyone.”  

Metro and TANK will offer fare-free rides beginning at 6 p.m., October 17-20. All rides on both transportation networks, including direct routes to BLINK, will be free. Direct routes to BLINK will be available via Park and Ride locations. These Park and Ride locations will drop attendees off at the Riverfront Transit Center for both Metro and TANK. BCRTA’s CincyLink will shuttle attendees from Park and Rides to the Riverfront Transit Station, from 5:30-11pm each night of BLINK.

“TANK is excited for the return of BLINK and our partnership to provide bus service to this amazing art experience for the people in Northern Kentucky,” said TANK General Manager Gina Douthat. “BLINK is best enjoyed as a pedestrian, which is why we want to encourage people to leave their cars at home and navigate the event on foot. To make it an experience that everyone in our community can enjoy, TANK will provide free rides on all services on the evenings of the event.”

“BLINK is a one-of-a-kind event that highlights the incredible offerings of the Cincinnati region, and Metro is proud to be a part of it,” said Brandy Jones, Metro’s Chief Communications and Marketing Officer. “Now with 24-hour service, increased frequency and more weekend service, in addition to the park and ride shuttles, connecting to BLINK on Metro has never been easier and more convenient.”

“BCRTA is excited to provide a ‘Link to BLINK’ for Butler County residents,” said Shawn Cowan, Director of Customer Care and Communications at BCRTA. “This marks the first opportunity for us to participate in such a major event, and we are eager to see its impact. The success of this initiative will serve as a key indicator of our ability to continue offering special transportation services for future events in downtown Cincinnati. We look forward to making these events accessible to our community and enhancing regional connectivity.”

Full Details for TANK:

Beginning at 6 p.m. all TANK services, including the Friday and Saturday evening direct Park & Ride bus service for BLINK, will be free of charge, for all 4 nights of BLINK.

Park & Ride at Northern Kentucky University (Lots K, L, M)

Available ONLY Friday, October 18th and Saturday, October 19th

• TANK will have promotional giveaways, music, refreshments, and fun at NKU as people wait for their bus to leave. 
• Service begins each night at NKU at 6 p.m. Last trip from NKU to RTC is at 9 p.m.
• Bus makes no stops in between and goes straight to the Riverfront Transit Center.
• Beginning at 9 p.m. each night, buses will ONLY provide return transportation from the Riverfront Transit Center and drop off at NKU (no pick-ups).
• Buses will operate from the Riverfront Transit Center back to the park and ride for drop offs until 11 p.m. each night.
• TANK staff will be on-hand at Northern Kentucky University, Covington Transit Center and the Riverfront Transit Center to assist with information, wayfinding and general help.

The Southbank Shuttle will be on a detour for all 4 nights of BLINK after 6PM and will not be servicing the normal Southbank street stops. Instead, the Southbank Shuttle will connect BLINK goers with a stop in Newport at 3rd and York, a stop in Covington at the Covington Transit Center, and a stop at the Riverfront Transit Center for anyone wanting to experience BLINK on both sides of the river.

Local Fixed Route Bus Routes: All local TANK service will operate as scheduled, with this exception – bus service in Cincinnati will be limited after 6 p.m. and will operate only to the Riverfront Transit Center after 6 p.m. No “on street” service will be provided in Cincinnati by TANK after 6 p.m. for the duration of the BLINK event.

Full Details for Metro:

• All Metro Fixed-Route service will be free between 6 pm.-12:30 a.m. and Access service will be free until 2 a.m.
• Due to street closures, Government Square will close nightly at 6:00 p.m. and service will be relocated to the Riverfront Transit Center until 12:30 a.m.
• Park and Ride service begins at 6 p.m; return service concludes at 12:30 a.m.
• Park and Rides will feature promotional giveaways and DJs to kick off the BLINK festivities.
• Vehicles are not permitted to be left overnight at park and ride locations.

Other Metro Service Information

• The Government Square information booth will be staffed from 5 p.m. – 1 a.m. nightly during the event.
• The Metro Customer Care Center (513-621-4455) will remain open until midnight nightly during the event.
• Metro staff will be on-hand at Cincinnati State, Crossroads and the Riverfront Transit Center to assist with information, wayfinding and general assistance.

Full Details for Butler Co. Regional Transit Authority:

CincyLink will offer free transportation from October 17 to October 20 from the above Park and Ride locations. The CincyLink Blink shuttle will start at 5:30pm and run hourly until 11:00pm. The service will be a direct route from Butler County to the Riverfront Transit Station.

Download Press Release Here

In 2020, TANK embarked on a system redesign to provide more frequent and reliable service, focusing on the travel patterns of our riders in the years leading up to those changes. Since 2020, much has changed for our region. These post-pandemic changes evolved rapidly and have affected where people live, where people work, and how people travel in their day-to-day lives.

In order for TANK to keep up with our riders’ needs, we had to look at how these shifts related to public transit. We took every opportunity to learn about our customers and our region’s employers to better understand if our current services are working or what we may need to adjust to better meet these changing demands. Additionally, with limited resources and constrained local funding, we have to do more with less and focus more on our service delivery approach.

After much internal review, TANK is shifting its focus to using resources to best serve the transit-dependent population in Northern Kentucky, particularly those with no or limited access to personal vehicles, zero-car households, and seniors. As such, the proposed changes to TANK’s service align with this vision. These changes allow us to connect more unconnected Northern Kentucky neighborhoods and transit-dependent people with fixed-route buses and on-demand transit services.

The changes being proposed are two-fold: Service Changes and Fare Increase

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Service Changes:

What are the proposed changes?

Route Eliminations (17X, 22X, 32X, 61, 62):

17x – Alternative route to use, can ride the 30x from the Ft Wright Hub

22x – Alternative route to use, can ride the 42x from the Florence Hub

32x – Alternative route to use, can ride the 42x from the Florence Hub OR 39x from the Limaburg Rd Park and Ride

Why:

Since the pandemic, as the nature of working downtown has changed, the nature of transit ridership has changed, particularly on downtown express routes. These routes cater more to people who commute to downtown Cincinnati but have suffered chronically low ridership since 2020. TANK is attempting to consolidate express routes, opening up resources that can help make other services more efficient. Nearby alternatives exist for current riders of these routes to get to and from their job’s downtown, as shown above.

61 – Riders of the 61 can ride Route 5 to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Covington. A stop at St. Elizabeth used to exist on the 5 but was removed when the 61 was created; that stop will be restored so people can still access the hospital.

62 – TANK will be working with CVG to develop an alternative solution for riders to navigate the CVG campus

Why:

Due to their purpose and layout, these routes are more limited in scope and thus have very low ridership.

Route Adjustments:

Route 5 – As mentioned above, the stop at St. Elizabeth in Covington will be restored to Route 5. In addition, due to the closing of the City Heights apartment complex in Ft. Wright, this route will no longer be stopping there.

Routes 1 & 25—The 1 and 25 routes will be unlinked. Due to their layout and length, as well as their high ridership, unlinking them will help improve their on-time performance, making them more reliable for more riders.

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Fare Increase to $2.00 in 2025:

TANK, like most transit agencies, received an injection of federal funding at the beginning of the Covid pandemic, but those funds will be depleted in the next couple of years. TANK has not raised fares in over 15 years, but as a result of increased costs, limited increases in local funding, and the loss of federal operating dollars, fares need to be increased to $2.00 in 2025 to assist TANK with generating operating funding to continue to provide vital transit services to Northern Kentucky. Reduced fares would be $1.00 for all routes.

However, frequent riders will be able to save more money soon, with the start of TANK’s new account-based ticketing program. TANK is working with Metro on an account-based ticketing (ABT) program which will allow frequent riders who are unable to purchase a monthly pass each month the ability to ‘pay their way’ to a monthly pass. Once a rider has purchased enough single rides (within the span of a single month) to cover the cost of a monthly pass, they will be able to ride for the remainder of the month at no cost.

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We know these proposed changes have an impact on our riders, and we want to hear your feedback. Here’s how you can contribute.

Attend one of our public meetings:

When: October 3, 2024 | 5:30 – 7:30PM

Where: Boone County Public Library – Florence Branch (7425 US Highway 42)

This event will be Open House style. Stop in any time during the 2 hours to review these changes, ask our team questions, and provide your feedback. Food will be served.

When: October 7, 2024 | 5:30 – 7:30PM

Where: Kenton County Public Library – Covington Branch (502 Scott Street)

This event will be Open House style. Stop in any time during the 2 hours to review these changes, ask our team questions, and provide your feedback. Food will be served.

Can’t attend one of our public meetings? Share your feedback online here:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2025servicechanges

or call 859-331-8265 to speak to a TANK customer service representative

Any comments or feedback MUST be received no later than 10/25/24 in order for the feedback to be considered.