skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

TN Transit System Looks Toward Improvements

play audio
Play

Tuesday, September 6, 2016   

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Many Tennessee roads today are clogged with people returning to work from the Labor Day weekend.

Less prevalent on the roads are public buses and the appearance of light rails running parallel to major thoroughfares.

Cities such as Nashville are hoping to change that.

The Metro Transit Authority (MTA) in Nashville has released its regional transit plan that includes a $6 billion price tag over the next 25 years.

Michelle Estes, an organizer with the riders’ union Music City Riders United, says she hopes attention is paid to existing service.

"My issue is, ‘Why not take care of the buses first,’” she states. “If you can get them back in the way they used to be where you don't have to go all the way back downtown and then come back out on another bus, then maybe we can incorporate other plans that they want to bring in."

Among the largest projects proposed – a commuter rail connecting Nashville and Clarksville and light rail on four busy corridors in the capital city.

The MTA plan also includes plans to improve access for people with limited access to personal vehicles, expand the range of transportation options for Middle Tennessee and simplify the existing system.

It's estimated that more than 2 million people would benefit from the improvements.

Estes says thousands like her count on public transportation to travel to doctors' visits, grocery stores and work, and it's important the state keep up with demand.

"It helps us get around the big city and it helps us get to the other connections to other cities, and it makes it easier,” she states. “We won't have so much traffic on the interstates."

According to the MTA, the population of Middle Tennessee is expected to exceed 3 million by 2040, which is slightly larger than the Denver metro area is now, and a roughly 30 percent jump from where the numbers stand now.





get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021