NashTransit

Deaderick Street sure looks strange without all those bus shelters.

What should take their place?

If you have the chance to get to either of tomorrow's MTA Public Meetings, go! I got to one this morning - it was a real sit-down-and-talk with MTA reps about the present and future of public transportation in Nashville.

The meetings this week are the first of three sets of meetings as MTA develops a new strategic master plan. Look for more meetings in January, and a draft plan to be presented in March.

Lots of possibilities are on the table, from shortening routes and simplifying the schedule to adding crosstown routes to complement the 'spoke' system already in place. Do you want more frequent service, or better on time performance? Or maybe you want better amenities at bus stops, and up-to-the-minute data on your next ride beamed straight to your cell phone. All these are great things, but they can't all be done all at once, so what's on your list of priorities?

Can't make it tomorrow? Email 'em: mta.publicmeetings@nashville.gov.

Transit Now Nashville blog - worth a look.

Mayor's Green Ribbon Committee Survey Results as of 9/30/08

I'd also like to note what a simple but wonderful pleasure it is to be able to buy a 31 day pass on a Sunday afternoon using the new automatic kiosks at Music City Central.

Now, where can I buy a sandwich downtown on a Sunday afternoon...?

A series of five MTA public hearings is scheduled for later in the month. The topic is pretty big picture stuff - "Strategic Master Plan and Vision for the Future".

The meetings themselves aren't particularly conveniently scheduled for those of us who work during the week, but you can always mail your comments direct to MTA. Contact info (as well as the meeting schedule) is in the link above.

Hopefully MTA will post a Powerpoint presentation to their web site at least a few days early to get the ball rolling. They usually do.

Bus Rapid Transit almost certainly will be on the agenda, and I hope to see some discussion about restoring routes that were cut this summer. What else would you like to see discussed? Post your thoughts!

I just updated my previous post - but for the sake of those on RSS, note that new bus schedules effective Sunday are indeed posted on the MTA web site. (My previous comment about Dunkin' Donuts stands. That rocks.)

The new Music City Central station opens for business on Sunday the 26th! Make sure to grab a summary of route changes from the rack on the bus. It's not a complete stop-by-stop schedule, but it will let you know if you should expect changes on your route.

For some reason this document isn't on the MTA web site... but there is a handy floor plan to help you find where to catch the bus.

Most importantly, it details the location of the new Dunkin' Donuts.

update 10/23/08: I was unclear - I meant that the route change schedule doesn't seem to be on the site, unless I've missed something.

update 10/23/08, ten minutes later: Ahh - the new individual bus schedules themselves are there as pdfs in the usual place.

Sometimes, Mayor Dean has to get a ride home when he works after the last bus.