CARTA is consolidating and adjusting some routes as part of its fall bus schedule.
The Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority switches schedules every August and May, coinciding with the start and end of classes at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
A handful of changes will accompany the switchover Aug. 23 as CARTA contends with budget constraints. According to Doug Carlson, CARTA’s director of transit planning and quality, many of the alterations are due to feedback from drivers regarding more efficient street pathing on certain routes.
CHANGES
Route 10 — which offers service along three paths from downtown Chattanooga to Avondale, Glenwood and Campbell Street — is being consolidated into a single route.
That means service will no longer continue for the route down Roanoke Avenue or the route down Dodds and Chamberlain avenues.
CARTA has also made plans to place four sheltered bike share hubs along the unified route, scheduled for spring of 2027. Because the route uses a highway, the hubs are eligible to be built using state funds from a Tennessee Department of Transportation grant.
To address the reduction in serviced stops, CARTA is expanding its on-demand CARTA GO coverage area to include Highway 58. By allowing the ride-share service to use the highway, Carlson says shuttle drivers can get riders to their bus stops faster. By increasing efficiency, the drivers will be able to adequately serve the influx of customers who would have used the stops along portions of the discontinued routes.
Four CARTA route changes set for late August
Route 13 through Rossville will have its pathing changed to no longer cut through Fourth Avenue from 23rd Street. Instead, it will use Hickory Street to get onto Rossville Boulevard faster, passing by Crabtree Farms and Clifton Hills Elementary School.
(READ MORE: How to ride the bus in Chattanooga: A guide to catching CARTA)
East Lake Courts, which is cut off by the pathing change, will still be served by the Route 9 bus.
The Mocs Express and UTC line of Route 14 will no longer cut directly through campus from Mocs Alumni Drive to McCallie Ave. It will also no longer loop around Engel Stadium back to Third Street but will instead continue down O Neal Street to McCallie Avenue.
The North Shore Express shuttle will be combined with the downtown shuttle and the Main Street pilot shuttle route into one long route from Shuttle Park North Shore to a loop around Main Street and Central Avenue. The free electric shuttle will take riders from Frazier Avenue on the North Shore through main downtown attractions such as the Tennessee Aquarium, Tivoli Theatre and Chattanooga Choo Choo before depositing them just south of the Chattanooga National Cemetery.
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A Wednesday noon town hall at the Chattanooga Downtown Library addressing the changes received mixed feedback from the sparse number of attendees. However, Carlson said the changes were received positively by both drivers and CARTA’s Rider Advisory Committee that previewed the changes last month.
Contact growth and development reporter Raymon Troncoso rtroncoso@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6317.