Kentucky Wildcab has a New Manager, Meet Brandon Darkomensah

Brandon Darkomensah is UK Transportation Services’ new assistant transportation manager. He works primarily during the evenings to oversee transit operations including campus buses, the on-demand late-night bus, and Kentucky Wildcab, a ridesharing service for University of Kentucky students.

While he’s new to UK, Brandon does have experience in the transportation and service industries. He most recently worked as a supervisor at United Parcel Services (UPS) in Lexington. In that fast-paced role, he was responsible for ensuring that trucks were properly loaded and that packages were delivered on time. He also supervised and trained other UPS employees. Because UPS is considered an essential service, Brandon worked diligently throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prior to joining UPS, he was a summer intern and audio-visual technician at Lexington Community Radio and a warehouse associate at Amazon. His first job, though, was as a “sandwich artist” at Subway. Brandon said he thinks “everyone should work in the food industry at some point.”

He credits that first job with teaching him humility, providing him with a sense of accountability, and helping him discover how to run a service.

“Sometimes you have to sacrifice your ego to serve other people,” said Brandon.

A Lexington native, Brandon is a graduate of Lafayette High School. In 2019, he graduated from the University of Kentucky where he earned a degree in information communication and technology.

His immediate family lives in Lexington, but his parents – now retired -- are originally from the Republic of Ghana in West Africa. Brandon said his father attended school at UK and one of his two older sisters currently works as a social worker in UK HealthCare. The other sister is a counselor in Bourbon County Schools.

In his new role, Brandon reports to James Hutchins, UK Transportation Services Manager. He works alongside Andrew Erickson, UK Transportation Services assistant manager for the daytime shift.

James says Brandon’s primary focus will be managing Kentucky Wildcab and supervising its student employees. He’ll also play a key role in transitioning the Kentucky Wildcab service to a new technology partner in the spring 2022.

Kentucky Wildcab is a free, late-night on-demand transportation option for students. The service provides students and their guests with a ride home from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights.

James said that “Brandon’s experience, work ethic and relatability really stood out during the hiring process and led to his selection for this role. We’re excited to add him to the team,” said James, “and we look forward to seeing him flourish.”

Brandon said his immediate goals are to make sure that Kentucky Wildcab continues to run smoothly and, as he learns Wildcab operations, recommend improvements to it. He’s currently working hard to find more part-time student drivers.

In his spare time, Brandon enjoys hanging out with friends, playing video games, and watching sports.