North Arkansas Transportation
North Arkansas Transportation Service (NATS) is a public transportation service under the 5311 program funded by the Federal Transit Administration.
As a non-profit organization, NATS is committed to our core values of providing safe, reliable and accessible transportation, maintaining affordability along with continued growth, and superior standards of courtesy and professionalism toward our clients and employees.
This program is a 50/50 match grant program for operating funds and an 80/20 match grant program for capital and administrative funding. The Public Transportation Section of the Arkansas Department of Transportation administers the grant funds.
Rural Public Transportation Agencies such as NATS are operated for the general public. This means that anyone may ride a public transit vehicle. There are no restrictions such as age etc. to keep someone from riding a public transit vehicle. All passenger trips are subject to the rate or contract schedule depending on the type of trip that is scheduled.
Ride with NATS
NATS primarily started as a commuter service providing low-cost transportation to the workplace for those employees who live in the most rural areas served. The Service began with four small vans serving Boone and Newton counties and parts of Carroll and Madison counties. By the end of the first year of operation, the fleet had grown to nine vehicles and had provided more than 2,200 passenger trips for employee purposes. NATS' fleet of vehicles now consists of 64 vans and small buses, two crew cab pick-up trucks, two service trucks, and one SUV.
By the end of 2025, NATS vehicles will have traveled more than 668,000 miles, providing more than 94,000 passenger trips.