Lee’s Summit, Mo.— April 18, 2017– OATS public transportation system has expanded its Lee’s Summit service to include Truman Medical Center Lakewood located just outside city limits. Under a new agreement with the City of Lee’s Summit, OATS also increased its hours of operations through evening drive time and reduced one-way fares by $.50.
“This expansion is welcomed by TMC Lakewood. It is challenging to recruit and retain employees without timely and consistent public transportation options available to them,” said Lynette M. Wheeler, COO of TMC Lakewood. “The hours of operation and affordability will be a real benefit to our employees.”
For $1.50 per trip and with a 24-hour advance reservation, OATS provides place-to-place public transit for any person regardless of age or ability from Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Prior to April 1, OATS fares were $2, and service hours were 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
“With 1,200 employees, TMC Lakewood is one of Lee’s Summit’s largest employers. The expansion of OATS provides a flexible, affordable transit service to those workers that previously was not available,” said Lee’s Summit Economic Development Council President and CEO Rick McDowell. “We appreciate the City’s support of the expansion of OATS service area in order to assist the Lee’s Summit workforce.”
Demand response transit service previously was provided through KCATA MetroFlex Route 252 and OATS within Lee’s Summit for more than a decade. The decision to discontinue MetroFlex service while expanding OATS service followed a City of Lee’s Summit Transit Study that recommended greater efficiency, added capacity, expanded service and lower cost for demand response transit services.
The service will be available within the City limits of Lee’s Summit and to/from TMC – Lakewood Medical Center located just beyond the City limits, which is an expansion of the service area when compared to MetroFlex. The fare will be $1.50 per one-way trip, which is a reduction in fare for OATS to match MetroFlex’s one-way trip rate.
About OATS Inc.
OATS, Inc. is a not-for-profit 501(c) 3 corporation providing specialized transportation for thousands of Missourians in 87 Missouri counties. OATS employs more than 700 people statewide, with 24 percent of employees Veterans. OATS serves more than 32,000 people in Missouri, providing about 1.6 million one-way trips in 2016. Its mission is to provide reliable transportation for transportation disadvantaged Missourians so they can live independently in their own communities.
For more information:
Tina Chace | 816-525-6617 | tchace@leessummit.org
Krista Klaus | 913-284-5752 | kristamartinklaus@gmail.com
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