NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Metro Council members voted Tuesday to rename two WeGo transit stations after renowned Nashvillians.
The downtown station will go by its new namesake Elizabeth Duff, who was the first female Black bus operator in Nashville for the Metro Transit Authority.
“To me, [this naming] is an inspiration to just keep going forward and to try to follow in her footsteps and be all I can be, like she was,” said Virpi Carter, daughter of Elizabeth Duff.
Additionally, the council will name the North Nashville center after Ernest "Rip" Patton, a college student who participated in the Nashville Freedom Riders and sit-ins.
“It shows that all the things that my uncle did was very special, not just to only me, but to everyone he met and came into contact with, and the things he had done for the community and the process of what happened back then until now, and that there is still work to be done,” said Michelle Holt, Patton's niece.
Groundbreaking for the Ernest "Rip" Patton North Nashville Transit Center is expected this fall. For more information about WeGo Public Transit visit the WeGo Transit website.
