Bowling Green’s public transportation service is preparing to start renovations aimed at improving operations for customers and staff.
GoBG will begin overhauling its downtown headquarters in June to add more offices and training space to the facility. The project is expected to cost roughly $1.7 million and is being funded through a grant from the Federal Transit Authority.
Tim McWhorter, General Manager for GoBG transit, said the project will allow the organization to operate more efficiently.
“The project will be federally funded and the scope of the project is exterior and some interior upgrades,” McWhorter said. “We’re going to add a conference room for training for the bus operators and more office space for the office personnel and really just combine the two spaces into a more modern, sustainable offering to increase our transit productivity in the future.”
The bus service provides five fixed bus routes across Bowling Green, and offers curb-to-curb service for individuals with disabilities. GoBG is managed by the City of Bowling Green and is the only public transportation service in Bowling Green.
The service can be used by anyone, but is especially targeted at those who do not have reliable transportation or can't drive. Bus service currently runs Monday - Friday from 6 a.m. until 5:45 p.m. and follows five-fixed routes across Bowling Green.
The bus service costs $2 for a one-way trip. Each bus is ADA compliant and riders with disabilities can schedule curb-to-curb service for $4 one-way. The bus service also provides a language line for residents who do not speak English fluently to accommodate Bowling Green's growing international community.
According to McWhorter, the bus service is beginning to bounce back after seeing low ridership due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was around a 30% decrease in ridership,” McWhorter said. “So we're starting to see slow incremental gains in our ridership percentages month over month. So currently we're trending toward around 75,000 passenger trips for this fiscal year which is up about 8% from last year.”
A bid from Sunbelt Construction of Bowling Green was approved by the Bowling Green City Commissioners last week. The renovations are expected to be completed by the end of the year.
