Abstract

Public transportation has always been an efficient way for people to get around. For example in cities such as Jersey City, New Jersey buses, cabs, and trains make up the spectrum of public transportation. Nashville has the Metropolitan Transit Authority which is a total of 140 buses servicing Nashville and surrounding areas and this makes up the list of public transportation.

In Nashville individuals who use the bus the most are the in low income inner city group. The census data for 1990 confirms that the vast majority of bus riders live in poverty in many areas of the city especially North Nashville.

Public transportation has it pros and cons, but the overall goal is that it is accessible to everyone who needs it. It should be even more practicable to poor people who need to get to work, school, or to run errands. For this reason, North Nashville was selected as a good location to improve a bus route.

There are two buses that run in North Nashville which is good, yet it would be better to have one bus that ran in this general area all the time, mainly among 28^th Ave. N and Charlotte. 28^th Ave. N has a university, and many businesses while Charlotte has several hospitals and clinics along the way. This location has a lucrative job market, and it is an excellent way for people to have jobs in their communities. A new route in this area will improve the transportation system of Nashville and will help people get to jobs that are not walking distance but only a few minutes away if the bus is taken.

Geographic Information Systems, LandView III, and census data were all used extensively in the creation of this new bus route and in locating the most necessary place to have the bus route run. This new route should be a stepping stone for North Nashville and the Metropolitan Transit Authority.

Introduction

Nashville is one of Tennessee's fastest growing cities. This city has a very reliable job market which is the reason why so many people are flocking to this distribution center. The bus system is heavily relied upon by people who need to get to work and any other destinations in Nashville. One problem remains though, the bus system is not well funded nor routed. Metro Council has plans to cut $350,000 from the small budget that Nashville already has. This may lead to several problems such as higher fees to ride the bus, and less routes that the bus can go on.

There has been an issue regarding the extermination of bus routes 5, 27, and, 16. This is will cause a major problem for those who rely on this bus to work and anywhere else. The reason behind the deletion of these routes is that there is low ridership. However this does not mean that the people who need these buses will somehow buy a car, or maybe disappear like the buses will do. It would be better to use smaller buses for the routes with few people. for people who do not have cars and have to get to work or anywhere else on the holidays. Efforts should be made where this will not happen and more money should be given to MTA so that they can provide better service the people of Nashville.

Figure 1 is a map of Davidson County census tracts, with the numbers of residents age 16 and above who depend upon public transportation to get to and from work.. In this case, public transportation is nearly entirely bus service. Most of the people who rely upon the bus service are concentrated in the Bordeaux/North Nashville area. Also there are people who live in the Gallatin and Dickerson Road areas who rely upon the bus system. The South Nashville/Nolensville Road area has a large bus riding population. The budget cut may also affect the holiday routes that the MTA has. This will pose a problem.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 2 is a map of the Davidson County census tracts with the number of people in poverty, and numbers of commuters using public transportation. There is a correlation between areas in the city where there is an abundance of people in poverty and above average commuters depending upon public transportation. Many of these people appear to live in the same general area such as North Nashville. Since North Nashville has an incredible amount of bus riders, who live in poverty as the census data show, it is imperative that a bus route be created that would service these people. It would by no means have them in a no win situation, for example going in areas that they do not need to go, but it will help them get to locations that are not in walking distance in a reasonable amount of time. If individuals desire to go downtown, then that is still an option for them, but for the most part the bus will have a stronger impact where it is needed the most. The census data does an excellent job in showing the income level of these people. Poor people need adequate transportation that does not cost them very much, thus, having a bus that will run frequently in their area is a wise idea.

Figure 3

Figure 3 depicts the income of the bus riders in Nashville. The data shows that people who ride the bus make anywhere between 0 to $30,000. The cluster of people who ride the bus only make between 0 and $20,000. The new bus route would be of great import because it would reduce the number of transfers that an individual has to make. Also with so many people living in poverty and riding the bus, it would be dumbfounded to continue to charge expensive prices to get just down the street. Figure 4 emphasizes the need for the fares to be reduced, not just for poor people, but also for anyone who relies on the bus system to get around Nashville.

Figure 4 portrays the number of single parent households using public transportation. The map draws attention to the location of the single parent families that utilize the public transportation system on a wide scale. It can be noted that the highest percentage of single parent families correlate the number of families in poverty that can be seen in Figure 2.Poor, single parent families appear to be in the North, South, and East Nashville areas. Figure 5 impacts the need to create a bus route that will cater to poor, single parent families, that have low incomes. Each figure only corroborates the need to have an adequate system that will help people to find jobs that will assist them in living about the poverty line.

Figure 4

Status of Nashville Bus Service

The status of the Nashville Bus Service is primarily inadequate. The first thing that needs to be addressed is the fee. Nashville is not big enough to have a $1.45 fare. No doubt this is done to make up for the lack of funds that Nashville receives from the budget, yet it is still absurd. In Louisville, Kentucky, there is better service than in Nashville and this city has a much smaller area to cover than Nashville, yet it receives the proper support for the bus system.

Although Nashville is bigger than Louisville, there is still no reason for the high fees and inadequate service. MTA need more loops than just one. Everyone does not have to go downtown all the time to catch another bus, thus the whole idea of going downtown to catch another bus should be refined. More buses should be able to connect with one another which will definitely bring a halt to all the buses going downtown. Nashville is in dire need of an improvement and effort should be made to make serious changes to the city's poor bus service. Below is a listing of some facts about the MTA as related to the project.

* Currently the MTA is a bus system with over 45 routes in the city of Nashville

* It includes a service that runs to 12:15 a.m.

* Its fare is $1.45.

* During the winter the MTA has an advanced system of alternate snow routes.

* Operates a free downtown lunch route service.

* Operates a reduced fare service for those who work in the downtown area.

There is no such thing as a week pass a but a 10 fare pass which doesn't point out if this applies to full fare or zone fares and transfers. As one passes through Nashville into other areas such as Cool Springs, Opry Mills, and Brentwood many zones are passed in order to reach these destinations so not only the high one way fare of $1.45 is put on low-income , needy patrons but a 24 cent fare for each zone passed and a transfer (10 cents) for every other bus caught. Also, if one lives near downtown only a 25 cent fare is required for them to get to work downtown. The problem with this is that this an effort of the MTA to attract middle income whites into the heart of Nashville. So if these sought after patrons were to move to the expensive Gulch and Cumming Station they will travel at the expense of the most needy patrons.

Case Study

Lisa Johnson is a 21year-old Shelby county resident. She is currently a third year student at Tennessee State University. Everyday it takes Lisa at least 40 minutes to an hour to travel a mile and a quarter distance. The journey she travels is from home, 2027 28th Ave North to school, John A. Merritt Boulevard. The purpose of this study is to help assist everyday people like Lisa to more efficient and adequate public transportation. We are proposing that the Nashville Transit Authority provide more bus routes through the metropolitan area of Davidson county. We are committed to inventing a new bus route called the number 10 28^th Avenue bus. We believe that buses that run every 15 minutes are more accessible in the higher income areas like the number 3 (West End) and number 45 (Brentwood) buses. The number 3 bus reaches 8 stops ( Bellevue Park N Ride, Page & Bell Meade, Lynwood & Leake, Harding & White Bridge Road, Woodlawn & Ridgefield, West End & 31st, Clement Landport, and Deadrick & 4th Shelter). The Woodlawn & Ridgefield makes a total of 4 stops daily using a 66 passenger bus. The number 45 bus makes a total of five stops (Brentwood Holiday Inn, Franklin Road and Maryland Way, Trousdale and Hogan Road, Franklin Road and Harding Place, and Deadrick and Shelter). Since the Franklin Road and Maryland Way and Harding Place aren't regular stops we believe those buses should be given to the new and improved 28th Street bus without going downtown. This will help eliminate the time consuming factors that MTA already faces. This bus will be an improvement for people who do not have access to a vehicle or any other transportation.

Project Description

Our objective is to have a bus that will go from 28th Ave. N all the way through 8th Ave. N until it reaches Charlotte again. It will make a loop. There are businesses located on Charlotte, 28^th and 8th Ave. that employ people who live within this area. Our main goal is to see people go to work without going downtown and catching another bus that will actually put them out of the way of where they need to go. Also, we want more buses and the fares to be reduced. We know that with the proper funding this will become a reality.

What has taken place to ensure support is the data that supports how many people get to work late waiting on other buses, thus they will want to use something more convenient that will help them get where they have to go faster.

After we have had success with this first plan, our next goal will be to create another bus routing system that will make a loop with two major streets and help the people in that community get to work without paying too much and going downtown.

We know that people are living in the areas where the bus will go through, thus we are relying on them to catch this bus to get to places such as Metro Center, where you have jobs such as Sprint, Nortel, and Federal Express, also there is Regal Maxwell House and La Quinta Inn that employs several people. The bus will also go near Tennessee State University, Farmers Market, Looby Library, and Kroger. Also, right off Charlotte are several hospitals that employ many people who live in these neighborhoods, there is also Amoco Corporate company and light industrial areas that are located off 28th Ave. N and Charlotte. We feel that this new bus route is an economical and convenient approach for people who will definitely benefit from it because they will be able to find employment and get to it with the help of the new bus route. This new bus route will add hope to the neighborhood that many poor people live. This route will also prove to be an asset to the community that many people will have the pleasure of utilizing.

Objectives and Goals

On an overall scale we hope to improve the transportation system in Nashville as a whole. Our group hopes to bring Nashville up to the standards of other large cities in this country. We will start to improve this transportation system by focusing on the urban mass transit system. We have decided on our plan to eliminate certain problems that exist in Nashville's mass transit system. Our specific targets for this project will be to

* Provide an easier bus route for citizens living in zones 2 and 3 (northwestern Nashville).

* Provide an alternate route to the downtown area without transfer cost.

* Provide the entire city with a 24-hour bus service.

* Provide safer stops and waiting structures for high crime areas.

In following these steps we hope to eliminate some of the time consuming problems that plague the Nashville urban transit system. These goals at the time may seem just out of reach, but with perpetual hard work and the right funding these goals can be accomplished.

Methodology

The people of North Nashville need help in finding jobs in their area. If a bus ran all around this side of Nashville, it would definitely aid people in this search. If a bus down 28^th Ave. down through Charlotte, and back again. It would be able to pick up people who live on these streets and they would be able to get to work. Metro Center has a large industry. It has companies such as Comcast, Natural Gas, Sprint, Federal Express, Cigna Healthcare and many others that are able to employ people. There is also Regal Maxwell House, Spring Hill Suites, and La Quinta Inn, these hotels can employ people and bring more income to North Nashville. The Hospitals such as Centennial, and Baptist also are able to hire people and they are on Charlotte Ave.

Individuals who live in John Henry Hale, and Cumberland View will be able to find adequate employment in their communities. Tennessee State University will also be accessible for anyone who is desirous of furthering their education. This will allow people to be able to get on the bus and go straight down the street without going all the way downtown.

The interesting aspect of this bus is that it will be able to connect with five other buses such as the 9, 22, 19, 29, and 42. Each of these buses will allow an individual to travel as far as they need. This new North Nashville bus will help people to once again trust the public transportation system of Nashville.

This bus will also go to places such as Kroger and Farmers Market, this will allow people to be able to shop and to go home in a reasonable amount of time. The idea of this bus is to help people in the North Nashville area because they definitely need it. This may even ignite the desire to ride the bus for those who have not ridden it in a while. Going downtown will become an option rather than a mandatory rule that each person must follow every time they ride the bus. This bus will eliminate the problem of going downtown when it is not necessary. This bus should definitely provide more jobs for people and help the community as they once again look with joy as they ride the bus to their jobs and other locations. LandView III GIS software was used to locate the digital street file map, which was then saved as a BitMap file (*.bmp). Microsoft Paint software was used to highlight the new bus route (Figure 3).

New North Nashville Connector

The 28th bus will be able to connect with the #9,22,10, and 29 bus. It will make stops at:

_ 28th and Jefferson

_ 28th and Clarksville HWY

_ Metrocenter Blvd (the entire area)

_ 8th and Vantage way

_ 8th and Garfield

_ 8th and Jefferson

_ 8th and Charlotte

Note: 28th Ave N turns into 8th Ave N and Metrocenter Boulevard. All of these are

interchangeable. Ed Temple Blvd is the same as 28TH Ave. N.

Since this bus will run clockwise and counterclockwise every 15 minutes. It will

allow people who live in zones 2 & 3 to have access to Walmart, Kroger, TSU, Am

South Bank, and Metro Center.

This will allow people to transfer to other buses such as:

_ 29 Jefferson

_ 9 Metrocenter

_ l0 Charlotte

_ 22 Bordeaux

Figure 5 is a map of the new bus route. It will service the areas that are in dire need of more extensive public transportation. The people of this area will be able to access the bus and go to work and come back home, avoiding the un-necessary transferring that most bus riders are faced with. This bus will take individuals to places in Metro Center where there are vast job opportunities, and if individuals desire to go further than this, there are many other buses that they can transfer to that will enable them to go where they need to go.

Evaluation

We hope that this project can be professionally evaluated by a consultant six months to a year after it has started. We would like to conduct surveys of the riders. We hope to survey the workers about the opinion of their new work schedule. We hope to evaluate the budget of the MTA to see exactly how our project has affected it. Hopefully we will have improved mass transit in zones two and three by double what they are now. We hope to set an example that the rest of the system will be eager to follow. We faithfully believe that with the results we can further improve our mass transportation system in Nashville.

The Proposed MTA #10 28^th Ave. Bus Budget

2 New shuttle buses..... $300,000

Employing More Drivers.... $100,00

5 drivers $20,000 per year

GIS systems to route new bus routes...$120,000

$20,000 GIS consultant

$70,000 GIS technology fee (lab & computers, etc.,)

$10,000 Tennessee State University (2 student assistants)

$20,000 Benefits

More bus shelters.....$200,000

Advertisements (Consulting firm).....$340,000

Benefits...$20,000

Other Support

In the event that proposal is not funded there can be arrangements made in order to circumvent any prior plans made. Some of these plans include instead of focusing on three bus lines, one bus line can be studied, fewer buses can be bought, and the hours of operation extension can fall only on that line. This can be seen as a smaller, and less costly test pilot program that would focus on the bus line that needs the most change. The change or lowered fare could not apply in this case since it would apply to only one bus line. However, all other changes can be made as written above to test to see if this would benefit the patrons of MTA and bring more business.

About the Author

Nashville’s Public Transportation Availabilty. 23 July 2001. http://www.money.com/money/debts/tools/bplive_citypages/NASHV_TN.html

Padgett, David. “Public Transportation Apartheid.” Urban Flavor 9 October 2000. http://www.urbanflavoronline.com/readarticle.asp?StoryNum=95

Transportation Equity Newsletter. 23 July 2001.

http://www.ejrc.cau.edu/transequnews.htm

Appendix

Charlotte, North Carolina Public Transportation Expenditures

(first two figures 2000 - last figure 2001)

New buses (35) $1,750,000; $1,806,000; $10,075,000

Equipment For Buses $320,000

Replacement Service Vehicles (8) $60,000; $60,000; $542,500

6 Vans - Replacing 1992/93 compact cars with 15 passenger vans which

supervisors use to transport passengers when buses breakdown.

Routine replacement:

New Service Vehicles (2) $70,000 $70,000 $122,500

Intelligent Transit System Equipment $1,260,000; $1,211,950; $3,155,000

Replacement Vans (15) $855,000

New Vehicles (12) $651,000

11 Vans & 1 Supervisor Vehicle – extend service into the County

Vanpool Service

Replacement Vans (15) $350,000-375,000

15 - Routine replacement (1987-1995)

New Vans (15) $500,000; $500,000; $375,000

15 - Increase ridership as a result of Commuter Register publication

Equipment & Facilities Improvement $1,280,000; $ 1,880,000; $ 1,153,900

CTS Facilities Improvements (Parking Lot)

CTS Shop & Office Equipment (Computers, Etc.)

Marketing Tools (C/S Software/Signage at Transit Center/Pool Vehicle/Web Kiosks)

New Bus Garage $1,000,000

Year 1 Planning/Design for a new garage to accommodate approx. 200 buses

Park and Ride Lots $500,000

Year 1 Planning/Design/Land Acquisition of lots to serve express/local transit routes

Bus Route Facilities Improvements $117,626; $500,000

Passenger benches/shelters/bus information signs at bus stops

New Transit Centers $300,000; $300,000; $1,000,000

Plan/Design/Land Acquisition/Construction of Transit Centers which provide

passenger waiting facilities for neighborhood, express and local service

Total Bus System & Vans $9,070,000; $16,410,442; $25,549,900