The KATS System That Almost Wasn't: KATS had five routes as recently as 2025, then dropped back to four in 2023 due to staffing shortages. But here's what most people don't know: the bus system runs Monday through Friday, 7:30am to 5:30pm, and thousands of Kingsport residents rely on it to get to work, school, and appointments. If you've never ridden it, you've never seen a whole side of this city. The drivers know their regulars by face, if not by name. They know who gets off at which stop, who's headed to the hospital, who works third shift. KATS isn't just infrastructure. It's a network of people making this city work for the people who need it most.
In today’s post:
Hidden Kingsport: The city you miss from your car
Route 3: Where the real infrastructure happens
The Regulars: Why the drivers know everyone's stops
COMMUNITY
Route 3 runs through parts of Kingsport most people never see. Monday through Friday. 7:30am to 5:30pm.
Most people in Kingsport have never ridden it.
I spent time riding KATS routes to see what I was missing. Route 3 is the one that surprised me.
You see the guy who works third shift catching a nap between stops. The woman with three grocery bags balancing them on her lap because she doesn't drive. The high school kid heading to their after-school job because their parents need the car.
The KATS drivers know their regulars. Not always their names. But their stops. Their schedules. The rhythms.
There's a whole Kingsport most of us never see. The one that doesn't have two cars in the driveway. The one that plans around bus schedules. The one that knows exactly how long it takes to get from one side of town to the other if you miss your connection at the Transit Center on East Main.
KATS isn't just public transit. It's infrastructure. It's access. It's the thing that makes this city work for the people who need it to work.
You can find the full route schedules and real-time updates on the KATS website at kingsporttransit.org, but the numbers and maps don't tell you what it's actually like. They don't show you the regular who always sits in the same seat, or the driver who knows to wait an extra thirty seconds when they see someone running for the stop.
Next time you're driving through town, look for the bus. Someone on it is going to work, or coming home, or trying to make it to an appointment on time.
That's Kingsport too.