The future of GO BG Transit

GO BG is a transit service that offers six bus routes within the city limits of Bowling Green. The fixed bus routes are open to the general public and are available Monday through Friday from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm. The service is currently managed by Community Action of Southern Kentucky.

Bowling Green city commissioners met at town hall to determine the future of the transit service. Commissioners voted to continue to allow Community Action to maintain the program through 2020 and heard from the board about possible partnerships that are being evaluated in the future.

Many residents in the community voiced their concerns about the current structure of GO BG. "I've been using the transit for the past 2 years off and on, I see that they need to be expanded and they need to have more funding to do this," said Bowling Green resident, Jennifer Morlan.

During the meeting a presentation was made by Michael Baker International. It highlighted various future plans with a possible merger between Western Kentucky University's Topper Transit and GO BG.

Shared management of both services with both sharing a general manager. A full merger while maintaining two different transit services,

and a full merger combining both transit services into one service package.

The study is a 3-phase process. These changes are needed to support the growing concerns with current operations and to accommodate the growing population in Bowling Green.

"Phase one was really a 3-month study, an evaluation of the Topper Transit system. 2 or 3 ... these discussions could go on 10-15 years," said Director of Neighborhood & Community Services, Brent Childers.