Bus, bike or drive? How one multimodal Nashvillian makes that daily decision

For math teacher Christian Jenkins, his commute to Hume-Fogg High School means a calculated decision.

Every day, he’s considering three different modes — bus, bike or drive — and several factors.

“The calculation is some combination of: When do I need to be home? How early did I wake up? Do I want to use my time commuting to work on grading papers? If so, I’ll ride the bus,” Jenkins said. “Get a little bit of exercise in, and feel a little better physically? I’ll ride my bike. Or if there’s bad weather, I’m more likely to drive.”

More: What’s at stake in Nashville’s transit referendum

Jenkins says driving is also necessary if he wants to get across town after work. But, the downside, he says, is that other drivers make his blood pressure rise. Taking the bus has helped alleviate this stress.

“Because it’s such a normalized thing in your life, you don’t realize the stress that you carry because of [driving],” Jenkins said. “When you actually put it down and do something different for a while, you realize that, like, I’m not mad at everyone in Nashville, it’s the way they drive their car. It’s very freeing.”

Here’s another trade off: To get from South Nashville to downtown during peak traffic hours, biking is usually the fastest method. It’s also the scariest.

“If you’re going to ride your bike, keep your head on a swivel and assume everyone’s trying to kill you,” Jenkins said. “They aren’t. But they do not see you.”

This is one reason why Christian supports the city’s transit referendum. If it’s approved, his Nolensville Pike route would be transformed into an “All-Access Corridor” — complete with better sidewalks, bike lanes and safety measures.

He’d like to see a safer walk to his bus stop, and a shelter over it — exactly the types of things that can tilt the scale as he decides how to get around.

Listen to the story above to join Christian for his ride home (and his thought process that goes along with it). This story concludes our transit ridealong series, spotlighting different bus-riding residents and how they utilize Nashville’s transit system. To listen to the rest — or access our the rest of WPLN’s coverage of the city’s transit referendum — visit WPLN.org/transit.