North Nashville Transit Center opens, signifying what the city’s transit future could hold

For many of Nashville’s bus riders, a trip across town often requires going downtown and making a transfer from one route to another.

But the latest effort to streamline service has officially opened its doors in the form of the North Nashville Transit Center. Located along Clarksville Pike, the center — named for Freedom Rider Dr. Ernest Rip Patton Jr. — marks the city’s third such site. That’s in addition to downtown’s Elizabeth R. Duff Transit Center, and the Hillsboro Transit Center, which opened in 2022.

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell told the opening day audience that it represents an evolution of the city’s transit system.

“What happens here is a sign that we are moving beyond an antiquated hub-and-spoke system that pulls everybody thinking about using transit into downtown,” O’Connell said, “and, instead, moving to a point-to-point distributed network that’s built for convenience and speed.”

While the $17 million project offers significantly more amenities than a typical bus shelter (there’s a waiting area, air conditioning, wi-fi, ticket vending machines, restrooms and a historical display honoring Civil Rights leaders), it’s the crosstown connectivity, that, for some riders, will make the most difference.

Cynthia Abrams WPLN News (File)

One of the multiple bus bays at the North Nashville Transit Center.

Michael White, a frequent transit user who travels to North Nashville to get groceries from a service organization, said the center will simplify his transportation.

“You don’t have to go all the way downtown now. You can just catch the bus here and it’ll take you all over the place,” White said. “I love it.”

Proposed locations for the 12 transit centers included in the Transportation Improvement Plan.

O’Connell pointed to the center as emblematic of what Nashville’s future could look like.

His proposed Transportation Improvement Plan seeks to develop 12 centers — of varying size and amenities, scattered across the city — by 2032. Some would be expanded to include park-and-ride facilities, and adjacent areas might also receive upgrades (such as sidewalk and intersection improvements, or housing, park and retail development).

Such sites would be contingent on the approval of the referendum, which is asking voters to approve a half-cent sales tax increase to fund the transit overhaul. The plan will appear on the Nov. 5 ballot.