Salina, Kansas – A partnership between OCCK Transportation and Cloud County Community College will continue to allow students, faculty and staff to ride 81 Connection buses for free during the 2022-2023 school year.
All Thunderbird students, faculty and staff can ride any 81 Connection regular fixed-route bus for free during normal operating hours by presenting a valid Cloud County Community College ID to the driver.
“We love working with community partners to make transportation options more accessible, especially for students,” said Michelle Griffin, Mobility Manager for the region. “81 Connection is an easy way for students to get around in North Central Kansas, especially with connections to the KANcycle bike sharing program, and even CityGo in Salina.”
The 81 Connection bus service has three bi-directional trips each day, Monday through Friday. The first route starts in Belleville at 6:45 a.m., then heads south on Highway 81 to four stops in Concordia, a stop at the Highway 24/Highway 81 junction, a stop in Minneapolis and stops at 7th and Walnut and Wal-Mart in Salina and then heads back to north to the same stops. The bus runs this loop twice and finishes in Belleville around 5:40 p.m. each day. A Salina CityGo daily bus pass is included in the Salina fare.
A second bus leaves Salina at 1:00 p.m. and heads north on Highway 81 to the same stop in Minneapolis, the stop at the Highway 24/Highway 81 junction, four stops in Concordia and the stop in Belleville, before heading back to Salina with the same stops. The bus finishes in Salina around 6:00 p.m. each day.
Trips on 81 Connection can be planned with both Google Maps and Apple Maps by using the Transit button on a computer or a smartphone.
Residents are encouraged to use the Transit app as well to show all transit options in the region.
OCCK, Inc. provides services in north central Kansas to anyone with any type of long or short-term disability, starting as early as birth and following people through their whole lives. OCCK provides an array of supports for success at home and in the community, including independent living skills and supports, employment and career training, Alzheimer’s supports, autism services, assistive technology, children’s services, transportation, specialized therapies, and home health care.
OCCK is committed to providing transportation services to the general public, seniors, and persons with disabilities, through a variety of programs, including a fixed route service in Salina, CityGo, a regional paratransit service that serves fourteen counties, non-emergency medical transportation for people with Medicaid, as well as non-emergency medical transportation for clients of Salina Regional Health Center, a regional fixed route service, 81 Connection, KANcycle – the regional bike sharing program, City of Abilene public transportation, KanConnect, a regional fixed route between Salina and Abilene, and the newest program, GoConcordia, which is public transportation within the city limits of Concordia.
For more information about OCCK, Inc., visit www.occk.com. For more information about CityGo and OCCK Transportation, visit www.salinacitygo.com. Or, contact the OCCK Transportation Center at 785-826-1583.