2 min read October 2022 — Invest: spoke with Jessica Dauphin, president and CEO of the Transit Alliance of Middle Tennessee, about how citizens perceive public transportation, the importance of bus drivers during the COVID pandemic and its new strategic plan that will “push further into more grassroots community-based work.”
Why is the Transit Alliance of Middle Tennessee important for the region?
The alliance is important because we are the only organization doing this work to raise awareness and build support for funding regional multimodal transportation; it’s our niche. My job involves many aspects of transportation. I work in the political realm, but I am not a politician. I work with business leaders and CEOs, but I am not a businessperson. I also work with the advocate community, so I am constantly listening and trying to keep my finger on the pulse of all these sectors. I try to understand the lay of the land and the topography of policy, so we can all play well together and build a better Nashville in terms of infrastructure, investing and policy.
What milestones has the Alliance reached over the last 12 to 24 months?
A lot has happened in the last 24 months. Collectively, the Middle Tennessee region has endured stress from the pandemic, a tornado or two, and a Christmas Day bombing in the heart of our downtown. Even still, the Alliance has navigated its way toward improving processes, proving value, and resource-sharing. For instance, I wanted to show our support for bus operators and maintenance crews because there was a lot of talk about the essential worker but in that conversation, no one was talking about the bus drivers who were keeping the buses running so that essential workers could get to work and others could access the essentials. There were 14,000 people taking the bus each day in Nashville throughout 2020 and the height of the pandemic. The drivers were extremely essential to the continued economic force of the city. Without public transit and bus operators, the grocery shelves wouldn’t be stocked. The people who were cleaning the hospitals needed a way to get back and forth to work. The stops that didn’t see a dip in foot traffic were near grocery stores and pharmacies, so they utilized public transit to get to these essential services. During this time we were using #TransitIsEssential to call attention to the essential nature of public transit. It was literally connecting essential workers to jobs and keeping others connected to the essentials of living-groceries, medicine, food, etc.
Also, we implemented new programming by going virtual, so we could continue to capture the public’s imagination and keep a focus on this issue while everyone was safe at home. We got national and local leaders to do virtual webinars with us, which was something new. We also created a STEM curriculum for high-school students. The goal is to get them in the door early so they can start thinking creatively about issues that they are experiencing. We want to pique their interest early, so they can best align with a career in college.
Later, we switched to a strategic planning process. We learned a lot about our organization and how it is perceived by others. We got to examine where we want to go in the future, which was eye-opening. The plan is in the final stage of production, but what I can tell you is that in addition to being a civic education organization, we will be expanding that scope into networking and as an advocate for action. We want to push further into more grassroots community-based work. Nashville’s economy did not dip during the pandemic. We were one of only seven states nationwide where the economy kept growing, so I came up with this robust plan for community outreach and engagement post-pandemic. We want to connect to people where they are, instead of assuming they will reach out to us.
What are your biggest challenges right now?
There are several challenges ahead of us. We are at a point in time where we need to invest in mobility infrastructure because people living here express disappointment, if not sometimes ire, at the rapid growth over the last decade. They aren’t mad that we are growing, so much, but because they are feeling the burden of that growth without receiving any benefit from it. So, bringing understanding to those people who say they don’t ride the bus and therefore don’t want to pay for it with their taxes is critical. Additionally, the geography of Nashville is not dense; it is more spread out, so it is challenging to build a transit system that offers something for every community. Lastly, I’ve heard so many times that residents have ceded the Downtown to tourists. They don’t go there anymore. This is sad because that area is full of life and there is a lot of energy there. I also hear that if it were easier to get in and out of downtown, residents would reconsider going there to enjoy the city we’ve built. Improved public transit could rebuild our love of downtown.
What does the future of transportation look like in Nashville?
There are several possibilities but none of them include flying taxis! I suspect that transportation improvements in Nashville will be tried and true enhancements to existing services and some expansion. Based on population and job growth projections, we will need better and more bus service. This would look like more frequent routes running longer service hours—maybe even 24/7 bus service. I think one of the most commonly cited wishes for improvements is a really great connection to the airport. Our airport is approximately eight miles away from downtown and having a reliable, safe transportation option that isn’t based on dynamic pricing would be a boon for tourists and residents — especially those who work at the airport. Some form of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and bus-only lanes on our highest ridership corridors on Murfreesboro, Gallatin and Dickerson seem attainable. As does de-centralizing our single transit center, the Elizabeth Duff Transit Center at WeGo Central. Creating more neighborhood transit centers, or mobility hubs will add efficiency and reliability to the service overall while supporting greater capacity for services. More improvements would include safer bus stops, including stronger bike and pedestrian infrastructure like protected lanes, sidewalks, and crosswalks but also includes lots of lighting. Lastly, an improvement that deserves consideration is another look at our regional services. How do we tweak the regional system to embrace mobility for residents that are seeking multimodal options outside the traditional 9am-5pm work commute?
This issue is how we will define ourselves for generations. We know that transportation infrastructure impacts life in the city for generations, so we must get it right. We must focus on this, align our goals, and get it right because if we don’t then we risk seeing our economy shrink and we will watch all the smart people leave. Missing the boat on transportation and mobility is really my worst nightmare and should be for anyone paying attention.
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