Quilt Show Shuttle Service

Between Tuesday and Saturday of Quilt Show week (April 22-26), Paducah Area Transit System (PATS) expects to transport between 32,000 and 35,000 Quilters with the PATS Quilt Show Shuttle Service. Quilt Show visitors will have a great time at the shows, but be aware there will be some traffic congestion, so it's a great idea to allow plenty of time for commutes. For those attendees driving into Paducah, it’s a good idea to use the Quilt Show Park n Ride at Carson Park. For all Quilters, the PATS Quilt Show Shuttle Service will provide transportation between the Quilt Shows, Hotels, Motels and Quilt supply stores.

Be Sure to watch for updates on The Quilt Channel, Channel 7 on Comcast Cablevision in Paducah, KY, April 22nd-26th.

CLICK HERE for a PDF brochure of all the AQS Show Events!

PATS American Quilters Society Quilt Show Shuttle Services:

Tuesday, April 22nd-Saturday, April 26th

Hours: Tuesday 9 AM-6 PM, Wednesday-Saturday 6 AM-10 PM

Buses and Shuttles run approximately every hour on Tuesday, and approximately every 1.5 hours Wednesday-Saturday (depending on traffic)

Park n Ride at Carson Park (Pictured on Map)


View Larger Map



Businesses/Show Areas for which PATS will provide Shuttle Service:

Hancock Fabrics, Quilt In A Day, Hobby Lobby, Kentucky Oaks Mall, Rotary Club Quilt Show at the Robert Cherry Civic Center.



Hotels/Motels/Campgrounds for which PATS will provide Shuttle Service:

America's Best Value Inn, Baymont Inn, Best Western, Comfort Suites, Country Inn & Suites, Courtyard by Marriott, Drury Inn, Drury Suites, Duck Creek Campground, Econolodge, Fern Lake Campground, Hampton Inn, Motel 6, and Pear Tree Inn. More could be added, so check with your hotel/motel to see if they'll be participating.

A Busy Week at PATS

This will be a busy, busy week at Paducah Area Transit System (PATS)!


Tuesday, April 1st: At 10 AM at City Hall we'll be holding our latest Mobility Services for All Americans (MSAA) Conference. Through MSAA, PATS is designing a one-stop calling center for callers to find transportation assistance information through 62 Federal programs, from Medicare to the Dept. of Agriculture, and everything in-between. Who should come? Anyone interested in how PATS is using the latest in hi-tech (GPS systems, ITS Systems) to simplify transportation for you, or for those served by your organization or company, from assisted living facilities to adult day-care facilities to employers wishing to provide transportation for their employees, and more. PATS is one of only 8 transits in the nation selected to take part in the MSAA Initiative. The final result of MSAA, will be the development of a "model" for other transits around the nation to become more efficient.


We'll also discuss how we're partnering with the United Way of Paducah and McCracken County to bring 2-1-1 service to Western Kentucky. The one-stop calling center will also be the 2-1-1 destination calling center for anyone needing information. Many local organizations and companies have come together, donating time and supplies to make 2-1-1 a reality in the Purchase Area. Right now, 2-1-1 service is available to 75 percent of the country, but not Western Kentucky. 2-1-1 is an easy to remember number which connects people to important community services and volunteers, from food banks or rent assistance, to crisis intervention and counseling, to support programs for the elderly, disabled or children, and much, much more.


At 11:30, we'll break for lunch, and then at 1 PM head over to the United Way Offices at 615 Broadway in Paducah to talk more about 2-1-1, and how we're pulling together to make it happen.


Wednesday, April 2nd: At 9 AM here at the PATS Main Station at 850 Harrison St., we're hosting a Rider's Forum for all our passengers to talk about what MSAA means to them and how it will improve bus, scheduled service and immediate response service (taxi- Dial A Ride). We'll probably be answering a lot of questions about the new bus routes, too. They begin in only 1 month, on Thursday, May 1st.


Thursday, April 3rd: You may see some TV cameras around PATS and on our buses, as we'll be taking part in the shooting of an informational video to air on The Quilt Channel on Comcast Cable during the American Quilters Society Show, April 23rd-26th in Paducah, KY. We'll be talking about our Quilters Park n Ride Program and other shuttle services during that busy, busy week.

New Bus Routes Set To Begin May 1st

On the heels of the annual American Quilters Society Show in Paducah, Paducah Area Transit System (PATS) unveils it's new bus routes May 1st. Right now, PATS runs 9 bus routes, but the wait times between buses on some of the routes can be up to an hour and a half. Beginning May 1st, we'll consolodate the number of routes down to 5. We'll have the Red, Yellow, Blue and Green Lines, along with the Downtown Trolley Route.



(Click on Map for Larger View)

Wait times between buses on the new routes will be only 30 minutes, with the exception of a one hour window about mid-morning, and the buses will run from 5 AM until 7 PM. We'll still be stopping at the same places, just more often! Our service to popular destinations such as Wal-Mart (both locations) and Kentucky Oaks Mall will more than double, with stops at Lourdes and Western Baptist Hospitals quadrupling. The Downtown Trolley Route will remain essentially the same.


We've already got the new maps and bus schedules printed. You can see the new routes, or pick up your own map at our Transit Station at 850 Harrison in Paducah. Soon, we plan on having them online as well at our website, PaducahTransit.com

Our Plus-70 Gold Card program is getting rave reviews from the Senior Set! We've already given out more than 50 cards to senior citizens over 70 years old. Now, they NEVER have to pay to ride PATS' fixed route buses! If you're over 70 and would like your own Plus-70 Gold Card bus pass, just come to the station at 850 Harrison, show a picture ID for verfication, and we'll snap your picture and make your Plus-70 Card!

PATS Partners with United Way for 2-1-1 Service

You're invited, Tuesday, April 1st, as Paducah Area Transit System will be explaining how it plans to make transportation simplier for everyone, with a high tech calling center which will be a "one-stop" clearinghouse for any kind of transportation need, as well as providing a much needed resource for virtually any other kind of information the public needs. The Calling Center brings together 62 federal transportation programs so people can call one number to fill all their transportation needs. PATS and the United Way of Paducah and McCracken County will also be discussing their partnership in an attempt to bring 2-1-1 service to Western Kentucky.

PATS representatives will be on hand to explain how the high-tech Call Center will impact the entire region by giving everyone a single-number to call to find out if transportation assistance is available for them, to set up their transportation reservations, and much more. The calling center will integrate with our ITS equipment to use technology to simply transportation for everyone.

The goal of the Mobility Services for All Americans (MSAA) initiative is to improve transportation services and simplify access to employment, healthcare, education, and other community activities by means of the advanced technologies of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and through extending transportation service partnerships with consumers and human service providers at the Federal, State, and local levels. PATS is one of only 8 transits nationwide selected to take part in the MSAA process.

Right now, 2-1-1 service is available to 75 percent of the country, but not Western Kentucky. 2-1-1 is an easy to remember number which connects people to important community services and volunteers, from food banks or rent assistance, to crisis intervention and counseling, to support programs for the elderly, disabled or children, and much, much more.

Here's the schedule:

10 AM- MSAA Meeting with agencies, stakeholders at Paducah City Commission Chambers at Paducah City Hall.

11:30-Lunch is served

1 PM-Meeting with United Way of Paducah-McCracken County and interested agencies at United Way Office, 612 Broadway Street, Paducah, KY 42001

On Wednesday, April 2nd at 9 AM, at the PATS Office at 850 Harrison St., we'll host a Riders Forum for any PATS passengers to tell them what the MSAA Initiative means to them, and to get their feedback on some of the aspects of it.

For more information, call PATS at (270) 444-8700

PATS Simulator Curbs Accident Rate

Thanks to our Mobile Driver Training Simulator, riding in Paducah Area Transit System buses other vehicles is now safer than ever.

In the year since Paducah Area Transit System (PATS) began training its drivers on its Mobile Driver Training Simulator, total accidents went down 44 percent, with preventable accidents down almost two thirds, at 64 percent. While other transits and law enforcement agencies experienced a 20-30 percent drop in accidents after incorporating simulator training into their defensive driving curriculum, the decrease in accidents so far for PATS has been even more dramatic.

In the year prior to implementing the training, PATS total accident rate was 2.6 per 100,000 miles, which was already well below the national average. After Simulator training began, PATS total accident rate dipped even further, to 1.45 per 100,000 miles. PATS’ rate of preventable accidents dropped to a miniscule .61 per 100,000 miles. During both periods, PATS vehicles logged more than a million and a half miles total.

“We had a feeling our accident rate would drop, because other transits which utilized simulator training saw their number of accidents decrease, but we were very excited to see just how dramatic the drop was,” according to Lew Jetton, Marketing and Community Relations Director for Paducah Area Transit System. “The training we’ve provided our drivers and others have, in all likelihood, also prevented injury, and possibly even saved lives.”

Many locally may have seen the bright yellow tractor-trailer rig parked across from Paducah’s Executive Inn and wonder, just what was inside. Inside are 3 state-of-the-art computerized driving simulators, to mimic any kind if vehicle from a sedan to a full sized bus. PATS instructors use the simulator to train drivers in defensive driving techniques by actually letting them drive through potentially troublesome scenarios.

Each PATS driver is required to train on the simulator at least once a year. Drivers involved in an accident are required to take a “refresher” course on the simulator, with an emphasis on the accident in which they were involved, if possible.

When not training PATS drivers, the simulator often hits the road to train drivers across the state and region. So far, this fiscal year, PATS has trained almost 700 drivers, including 378 transit drivers and more than 200 law enforcement officers and firefighters in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee. “We don’t have data on their accident rates, but every one of them have commented on how much they got out of the training, and how much they’d like to follow up with more advanced lessons,” according to Jetton. “We’ve even had parents request to have their teenage drivers go through the simulator because it’s such an effective tool in teaching safe driving techniques. In the simulator, you can have a wreck and nobody gets hurt.”
So far, there’s only one year’s worth of data to compare to previous years, but it’s hoped the trend will continue. “Now we can see the accidents we’re NOT having because of the training and hopefully we’ll continue to see that number stay down, or go down even further.”

Free Bus Fare for 70 and Over

PATS Launches “Plus 70” Gold Cards for Free Rides

Beginning March 1st, 2008, Paducah and McCracken County residents over the age of 70, will be able to ride all PATS fixed route buses FREE with a PATS Plus 70 Gold Card. For those over 70, just come to the PATS Station at 850 Harrison in Paducah, show identification to prove they’re more than 70 years old, have their photograph taken and placed on their Gold Card. From that point on, all they’ll have to do is show their card to the bus driver upon boarding the bus.

For those who are interested, but have never ridden PATS buses, PATS workers will be happy to meet with them, show them the routes and how they can use their Plus 70 Gold Card to get out more! For those over 70, whether they can’t drive anymore, or just want to save money because of the high price of gasoline, the Plus 70 Gold Card is the ticket!

For more information, call PATS at (270) 444-8700