Next month, CARTA will expand its bus routes to include two of Chattanooga's largest employers.
The Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority will start an express route on May 4 that takes riders from downtown to the Enterprise South industrial park. Volkswagen and Amazon, two of the top five largest for-profit employers in the city, are located there.
On Wednesday, the public transportation authority hosted a public hearing to inform people of the route and get feedback.
But most of the feedback from citizens was about other wished-for routes.
"I know Soddy-Daisy is on the other side of the world, but there is a need," said Soddy-Daisy resident Elizabeth Mann. "Loads of people are walking on Dayton Pike every morning."
Others asked about bus services to outer areas like Collegedale, East Ridge and Red Bank.
CARTA board Chairman Steve Jett encouraged them to talk to their municipalities about their desire to have CARTA service.
Chattanooga City Councilman Yusuf Hakeem, who represents District 9 which includes the downtown area, said the new Enterprise South route will make jobs more accessible to people in the inner city.
"Transportation has been one of the barriers that people in the inner city have had to overcome," he said. "CARTA has stepped up to take on this responsibility."
This map shows CARTA's proposed route to Enterprise South. The route is scheduled to run from 4:15 a.m. to 6:55 p.m. Monday through Friday. Hundreds of people have worked at Enterprise South for a limited time but quit because of no transportation, he said, while others who wanted a job didn't even apply because they lacked transportation.
Bus riders, elected officials and employers have all inquired about a bus route to the industrial park, which employs 6,679 permanent workers, according to the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce. And then there are the scores of seasonal employees, plus the 2,000 jobs expected after VW's expansion is complete.
A $1.7 million Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grant plus $433,000 from the city will fund the new route for three years. After that, the route must be self-sustained for it to continue, said Veronica Peebles, CARTA's manager of communication.
Lisa Maragnano, CARTA's executive director, said she doesn't know the number of riders needed to make the route self-sustaining, but officials will determine that as riders start using it.
The route will be offered Monday through Friday with service hours accommodating the various shifts of most of the 13 companies at Enterprise South. One company had a shift time of 5:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. that could not be accommodated, Maragnano said.
However, she said, the transportation authority may make schedule changes according to demand. The new service will be monitored from May to August.
In addition to those without their own transportation, CARTA expects riders who wish to avoid driving or parking problems to use the service.
Maragnano also discussed route improvements to East Brainerd that will enable people in the Hamilton Place mall area to catch a bus every 40 minutes, as well as a route change for the No. 13 Rossville bus that will enable the bus to avoid a roundabout.
After speaking of the new route and other changes, Maragnano took questions and suggestions from the audience.
PattyGaal Godfrey, who lives in the downtown area, spoke up.
"I've got to have a bus after church [Sunday evenings]," said Godfrey, who attends church in Hixson. "It ends at 8:15 p.m. but the last bus comes around 7."
Contact staff writer Yolanda Putman at 423-757-6431 or yputman@timesfreepress.com.