The Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency is revamping its Cookeville Go bus routes starting Monday, August 17, to improve on-time performance and enhance transit access for Tennessee Tech students.
RAP Coordinator Jerry Myers said the agency is reducing the coverage area of the three Cookeville routes to ensure buses arrive more efficiently at high-density pickup locations. Myers said the restructuring aims to increase on-time performance from 64 percent last year to a goal of 90 percent while preventing route shutdowns caused by heavy traffic.
“Saxony is new. About two years ago, or two or three years ago, Tennessee Tech called us about Lee Avenue and had the same same goal in mind. And it was a slow start and Lee Avenue has now become one of our bigger stops,” Myers said.
Myers said the agency added the new stop specifically to help Tennessee Tech students reach campus without needing a personal vehicle. Myers said ridership in Putnam County has grown by 247 percent, increasing from 21,538 rides in the 2021-2022 fiscal year to 74,720 rides last year.
Myers said the Go routes remain fare-free for all passengers and the agency has no plans to reintroduce fees in the future. Myers said the agency employs a mobility manager specialist who can ride with new passengers to teach them how to navigate the route system.
“If you live anywhere along the route and you’re a Tech student, you can come out and you don’t have to try to find the bus stop. If you’ll get out to the where our route’s running by and see our bus coming, you can flag him down and if you give him enough time to stop without causing a traffic problem, he’ll pull over and load you up and take you on over there,” Myers said.
Myers said the Blue route previously faced the most significant challenges because it had to navigate heavy traffic on South Jefferson Avenue and South Willow Avenue. Myers said the agency is distributing brochures and using the Passio Go app to provide real-time location and bus capacity data to riders.
“Just that our routes, our, our services are provided to anyone. There’s a misconception out there that our services are for the elderly or for the people with disabilities. But our services are available to anyone who needs to ride and get around, Cookeville area on the Go routes, but, you know, we provide things for other routes, for other systems for people who need to get around the county or the Upper Cumberland,” Myers said.
Myers said he is confident the new route maps will remain in place for at least one year before the agency conducts another performance review.
