NASHVILLE – Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell and WeGo Public Transit officials along with lawmakers and invited guests officially opened the Dr. Ernest Rip Patton, Jr. North Nashville Transit Center this morning with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
The center provides riders with more connections, additional service, and better amenities, including real-time bus arrival information, QuickTicket vending machines, a waiting room, restrooms, Wi-Fi, and multiple bus bays to connect several routes across town. Future features include level bus boarding platforms on Clarksville Pike and bicycle storage for riders. The project is the next step in the overall effort to provide better bus service to neighborhoods across Nashville and decrease dependence on downtown connections.
“When we make transit more accessible, more people ride,” Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell said. “This new transit center will connect Nashvillians in the area to countless job opportunities, and it will provide the convenience of new crosstown routes and more frequent service. That builds on Rip Patton’s indelible legacy that is engrained in our history thanks to his work as an organizer of sit-ins and as a Freedom Rider.”
The center represents a total investment of $17 million and is in alignment with nMotion, the Middle Tennessee Region’s adopted 25-year integrated and multimodal transportation strategy. Funding partners include Metro Nashville, the Tennessee Department of Transportation, and the Federal Transit Administration of the United States Department of Transportation. Additional crosswalk and sidewalk improvements came through a Greater Nashville Regional Council grant with the Federal Highway Administration.
“Since April, there has been a 36 percent increase in ridership on the seven routes served here at the North Nashville Transit Center, and that was before the building officially opened,” WeGo CEO Steve Bland said. “This increased service and the new connections will greatly improve access to job opportunities, workforce skills training, health care and many other services that connect people to their lives and community.”
The center naming and design reflects the past, present, and future of North Nashville and the lives of the people who have made a difference in the community. Dr. Patton was an early member of Nashville’s 1960s civil rights movement who participated in lunch counter sit-ins and other nonviolent protests. In 1961, he was a Freedom Rider who was arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, and one of the students expelled from Tennessee State University for participating. He and other students were awarded honorary doctorate degrees many years later. The names of the students are featured in a historical display embedded in the sidewalk.
Nashville artist Lee-Xander Bryant created the digital art display in the waiting room. He documents conversations with residents to show their connection to their neighborhood. The plaza area features a mural by the Nashville artist Woke 3. It illustrates the words of youth speaking about their community and the world around them.
“Transit centers are wonderful for the service improvements they provide for riders, but we also want to make sure each one reflects the spirit of the Nashville neighborhood it serves,” Nashville MTA Chair Gail Carr Williams said. “We started meeting with members of the North Nashville community several years ago and they have been integral in the planning process.”
The site has an open plaza and other outdoor areas with seating. Safety and security features include 24-hour security staffing, digital cameras, and a close partnership with the Metro Nashville Police Department North Precinct.
Design and construction efforts were led by ICF and Megen Construction, Smith Gee Studios, Vivid1 architecture, and the Don Hardin Group and supervised by WeGo project manager Kia Lewis.
For more information, visit WeGoTransit.com.
# # #
Dr. Ernest Rip Patton, Jr. North Nashville Transit Center Fact Sheet
Connections
Seven bus routes connect through the facility.
36 percent increase in ridership on those routes in the last year
Riders have access in a 30-minute travel window to:
- Two universities, four middle schools, two high schools and six medical centers
- More than 64,400 jobs can be reached by riders now compared to about 13,500 jobs accessible under the previous service.
Safety and Security
Security staff are on-site 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Digital security cameras located throughout the center and grounds.
WeGo works closely with the MNPD North Precinct.
NNTC Timeline
September 22, 2016: nMotion strategic plan approved which includes proposal for transit centers outside downtown.
Fall 2016: Initial consideration of the North Nashville project
2018: Discussions with the landowner
September 1, 2020: First community meeting held.
Fall 2020: NNTC Community Advisory Committee formed.
July 19, 2022: Metro Nashville City Council approves ordinance naming of the future North Nashville Transit Center as the Dr. Ernest Rip Patton, Jr. North Nashville Transit Center.
November 10, 2022: Groundbreaking
July 2024: soft opening to public
August 29, 2024: Ribbon Cutting
Cost
Project Cost: $16.9 million
$5.4 million State
$7.8 million Federal
$3.7 million Metro Nashville
Design and Construction
Contractor: ICF/Megen
Design team: Smith Gee Studios
Display curation: Don Hardin Group
Administration services: ViViD1 Architecture
Dr. Ernest Rip Patton, Jr. Historical Displays and North Nashville Artwork
Dr. Patton was a Tennessee State University student and member of the Nashville Freedom Riders who participated in the downtown Nashville Civil Rights sit-ins and protests in Mississippi. He was arrested during a Freedom Ride to Jackson, Mississippi, and was one of 14 students expelled from TSU for participations in Freedom Rides. He and other students were awarded honorary doctorate degrees many years later.
You can see the names of those students in a historical display embedded in the sidewalk. It’s still being finished, but we have renderings of what the finished displays will look like. The goal is to represent the past, present, and future voices of North Nashville, through quotes, and name markers.
These are the voices of the past of North Nashville.
Artist Lee-Xander Bryant created the digital display in the waiting room. He documents conversations with residents to show the connection their neighborhood. These are the voices of the present of North Nashville.
The concrete walls in the plaza feature a mural by for Nashville artist Woke 3. It illustrates the words of youth speaking about their community and the world around them. These are the voices of the future of North Nashville.
About WeGo Public Transit
The Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority (Nashville MTA) and the Regional Transportation Authority of Middle Tennessee (RTA) are operating bodies of WeGo Public Transit, which serves 27 local bus routes, nine regional bus routes, and one train serving Davidson and Wilson Counties. Visit WeGoTransit.com