NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Nashville high school students at McGavock and Glencliff will soon have shorter walks to school thanks to changes in the WeGo public bus system funded by the Choose How You Move initiative.
Currently, students at these schools must walk about a mile to a mile and a half after their bus ride to reach campus, creating a significant barrier to attendance, especially in extreme weather conditions.
"Currently today students are having to walk about a mile and a half from Lebanon Road up to the high school on McGavock Pike," said Michael Briggs, who works at the mayor's office overseeing plans in the Choose How You Move Initiative.
The initiative, funded by a recent sales tax increase, will create special bus service routes that divert from main lines to drop students closer to their schools.
"This would be a special service that diverts off of the main route that goes up to the high school. It would just be during the school year and on school days," Briggs said.
The change comes after direct feedback from students themselves about transportation challenges.
"We got direct feedback from some of the McGavock students as we did engagement on Choose How You Move that this was a need," Briggs said.
City leaders report that students and staff can use a free ride program to take the bus. Last school year students and staff took over 710,000.
Safety remains a priority with the transportation changes. Part of the Choose How You Move funding will go toward improving security resources.
"Safety of all our riders is critically important," Briggs said.
The new routes will provide students with a safer alternative to the narrow sidewalks they currently use.
"It is a more safe connection and a more direct connection to get them right there," Briggs said.
Additionally, 28 Metro Police Officers will form a special unit dedicated to transportation, including the bus system, though Briggs notes this security enhancement will take a few years to fully implement.
Have you experienced transportation challenges getting to school or work? Share your story with our reporter at Kim.Rafferty@NewsChannel5.com and help us understand how transit improvements impact Nashville residents.
This story was reported by Kim Rafferty and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Kim Rafferty and our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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