NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Most people who take the bus in Nashville head downtown first to connect to other areas of the city. Choose How You Move Director Kendra Abkowitz wants to redirect bus routes to better match how people travel.
The system, as it is currently designed, can add over an hour to a daily commute, especially if riders take the bus to areas far from downtown.
"Today, the majority of our bus system is connected to WeGo Central; most of our service lines must go in and out of Downtown Nashville," said Abkowitz. "If you think about it, if you are going to travel from point A to point B, that is not always the most efficient way."
Last year, voters approved the Choose How You Move initiative, which boosted the sales tax in Nashville. That's how WeGo is paying for this.
WeGo plans to bypass the downtown location by building multiple other transit centers. Eric Melcher with WeGo says these centers will help people in Nashville with daily commutes.
"People don't have to go through a congested part of Downtown to get where they need to go," said Melcher.
Not only will it bring people into the city, but transit centers in outlying areas like Donelson and Gallatin Pike would connect bus routes between them.
The concept is similar to the North Nashville transit center, which opened last fall.
"Prior to opening that transit center, it was not possible to go from East Nashville to North Nashville without having to make a stop to transfer in Downtown Nashville," said Abkowitz.
Right now, the transit centers are in the planning phase. All projects in the initiative are expected to finish in about 15 years.
To read more about plans in the Choose How You Move initiative, click here.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Kim.Rafferty@newschannel5.com
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