COVINGTON, Ky. — We set out a few months ago with a simple question: how do the amenities at bus stops across Northern Kentucky differ block by block? After visiting and reviewing dozens of them, we concluded they vary greatly depending on which street you come across.
Certain amenities, like benches or bus shelters, tend to be located at central stops with higher ridership, a Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky spokesperson said, and TANK receives several requests per month from riders and businesses looking to add or change services.
“Our team is always interested in feedback from our riders, because it allows for us to create a better system tailored to the needs of the communities we serve," the spokesperson said in a statement.
WATCH: Here's how to request changes to your TANK bus services
While reviewing Northern Kentucky bus stops, we met Andrea Pugh, who lives at Golden Tower, a senior living facility. Her TANK bus stop, near Madison Avenue and 11th Street, is marked by a sign posted on a wooden pole.
"I catch this bus all the time, and I have to stand here and wait," she said. "Right here, in front of the senior citizen building, we have nowhere to sit, there's no shelter or nothing."
Pugh said many of her neighbors, who are also seniors, have expressed a desire to ride the bus to a nearby grocery store to shop, but the lack of seating or shelter acts as a barrier.
"(They use) walkers, hoverrounds, wheelchairs," Pugh said. "The majority of the time, they ask somebody (for help) or get a ride for somebody (to) take them to Kroger's or have Kroger's do delivery."
Pugh asked us for help, so we brought her a TANK amenity request form and helped her fill it out. We also reached out to a TANK spokesperson who said the planning team will review what is possible to accommodate the request and reach out with any possible solutions.
"In terms of analyzing new requests such as this from the public, we look into the feasibility of adding amenities from many different angles," the spokesperson said. "That includes the amount of riders who use the stop, the pedestrian network layout surrounding the stop, the width of the sidewalk/whether there is concrete to place the amenity on ... how nearby the closest stop with amenities is and whether we've received previous requests for the same amenity/at the same stop."
The spokesperson encouraged riders to reach out, no matter if the request is feasible or not.
"We encourage riders to share their feedback using our amenities request form, our contact us form, or by phone or e-mail. We may not always have the ability to accommodate every request, but we do review every request that comes in and work on solutions where we can make changes," the statement said.
