Murfreesboro has a long history of providing public transportation that goes as far back as a street railway system in 1892. Then back in the late 1930s and 1940s, the city had five bus routes. During that time, A.L Smith Drug Store on the square served as what today would be called a transit center. Much like the current one on the corner of Burton and Walnut Streets, and the new one being built on New Salem Highway.
Unfortunately, none of the privately owned bus enterprises of the past could make a profit. The longest-running one survived through the 1940s but struggled through shortages brought on by World War II. Cars becoming more economical by the early 1950s made the bus company uneconomical to run, closing it down. Privately owned public transit businesses came and went until the early 2000s when the city of Murfreesboro began research on a bus system to help residents get to work, shopping, and healthcare.
In 2006, Murfreesboro held a city-wide contest to name their new city-wide bus system with seven routes. A four-year-old girl named Savannah Leigh Bowen submitted “Rover” as the name, and local artist Art Growden’s daughter came up with the design idea, which he drew. According to the city’s website, “the purpose of the contest was to involve the community and create some excitement and energy around public transportation in Murfreesboro.”
For almost 20 years, Rover, now called Murfreesboro Transit, has been serving the city from the transit center on Burton Street. With the increasing population in the area bringing additional traffic, Murfreesboro began the construction of a new, $17.1 million transit center on New Salem Highway, across from the Doug Young Public Safety Training Facility, in the fall of 2023. This new center will have a passenger pavilion, maintenance barn, parking, and an administration building.
Working with Nashville’s public transit system, WeGo, to solve regional transportation issues along the I-24 corridor, Murfreesboro Transit is helping them plan a new regional park-and-ride near the new transit depot to provide easy access to their regional buses.
The I-24 corridor has become one of the fastest growing and most congested in the state, which is why WeGo has been working with Murfreesboro Transit Authority to help in any way they can to lower the number of cars using I-24.
There have been many proposals over the years to alleviate the traffic problem, including rapid transit, but enhanced regional transportation measures have been repeatedly voted down. Regional partnerships are one way to provide at least a temporary solution to the growing problem.
While Nashville and the surrounding area has increased in population, the transit system has been lagging behind. Other cities of similar size across the country long ago bit the bullet over the cost of a more effective mass transit system, and it has paid off.
The Transit Alliance of Middle Tennessee has spent the last 15 years educating public advocates about the need for a regional transit plan. As they say on their website, “Transit is severely underfunded across Nashville and Middle Tennessee. Peer cities like Austin, Charlotte, Birmingham, and Columbus are outspending us.” The problem for the Middle Tennessee area is that it is harder for people to get to work here than in areas around cities like Austin, which have invested in public transportation. This lack of a regional transportation plan will eventually stall growth.
According to an article in the Nashvillle Banner, “A top 25 city in the country, Nashville remains the only one of those 25 cities without dedicated funding for transit, and it shows.”
“In addition,” reported WKRN News, “a recent analysis from Forbes ranked Nashville’s commute as the hardest in the country. The study looked at total workers, average travel time to work, percentage of households without a car, walkability and access to public transportation to create their ranking.”
Transit Alliance’s goal is to close the funding gap by amplifying pro-transit voices, building momentum for future connectivity and transit funding. To learn more about transportation issues in Middle Tennessee visit https://www.thetransitalliance.org/resources.
Ways to solve the traffic congestion will not be easy. They will require changes in how work is done, including work being within biking or walking distance, hybrid work with some days employees working from home, carpooling, and of course multiple modes of mass transportation.
Modeshift.com reports, “An average transit bus can fit up to 42 people, meaning that a full bus can reduce the need for 42 single-passenger cars from the road during a single commute. A group of full buses running every 15 minutes along one route can take up to 168 cars off the road each hour.”
Murfreesboro’s new transit station is expected to be completed by April of 2025, according to the Murfreesboro Pulse. Ground was broken on October 27, 2023. The new transportation center was designed by HDR and is being built by Rock City Construction.
Once completed, Murfreesboro Transit hopes to increase the number of bus routes in the city, expanding to places like the Joe B. Jackson Parkway area.
More information about Murfreesboro Transit is available here.
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