Nashville’s public transportation, We Go, celebrated the grand opening of the Hillsboro Transit Center on March 31.
Remarks were delivered by Nashville Mayor John Cooper; Director of Metro Nashville Public Schools Dr. Adrienne Battle; WeGo CEO Steve Bland; MNPS School Board member Gini Pupo-Walker; Councilman Russ Pulley; Nashville MTA Board Chair Gail Carr Williams; Schuler Pelhan, principal at Hillsboro High School; and MNPS student Xandria Bowen.
“The new WeGo Hillsboro Transit Center is a great example of collaboration between WeGo Transit, Metro Schools, and neighborhood leaders and businesses,” said Mayor Cooper. “In a city on the move, we must keep our people on the move—safely and efficiently.”
Transit centers are designed to be a multimodal focal point of transportation. They are typically applied at the junction between local service, rapid service, and other modes of transportation at layover stops or transfer points and can be a mixture of on-street stops and off-street bus berths depending on the types of routes served.
The project, a collaboration between WeGo and Metro Nashville Public Schools, was planned in conjunction with the $89 million renovation of Hillsboro High School. Located on the east side of Hillsboro Pike in front of Hillsboro High, the center offers 1,000 square feet of covered space and includes climate-controlled waiting rooms, real-time bus information, phone charging stations, and exterior waiting areas. The ADA infrastructure is equipped with Wi-Fi, ticket vending machines, and lighting improvements.
According to Trey Walker, director of engineering and construction for WeGo Transit: “The idea for this project started in 2016 when we wanted to build a network of regional transit centers. The hub is strategically located throughout the network to help with crosstown connections and make our system easier to utilize.”
The overall project cost $4.5 million, made possible with the collaboration of the Federal Transit Administration, which contributed 80% of the project, TDOT and Metro Nashville. The land was donated by Metro Public Schools.
According to WeGo, over 350 students use their buses to get to and from school and any public school student can ride the bus for free.
“We hope it is the first of many neighborhood transports around the city, said WeGo CEO Steve Bland.
