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Medical District launches new Mud Island shuttle

The Groove shuttle will transport students and medical professionals from Mud Island and St. Jude Research Children's Hospital to and from the Medical District.
The Groove shuttle will transport students and medical
professionals from Mud Island and St. Jude Research
Children's Hospital to and from the Medical District.

Southwest students and employees who live around Mud Island and St. Jude Research Children's Hospital have a new commuting option that will allow them to leave their car home and instead take a free shuttle to the Medical District. The Memphis Medical District Collaborative (MMDC) has launched a pilot commuter shuttle called “the Groove” running between Mud Island and the Medical District. The Groove shuttle is free for employees and students of participating medical and educational institutions with valid identification cards and is open to the public at standard MATA fare prices.

MATA (Memphis Area Transit Authority) will operate the shuttle on a set route between Harbortown and the Medical District during peak weekday commuting hours, 6:30 a.m. - 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. – 6:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.  The service will not operate during weekends or on MATA-recognized holidays.

The shuttle’s schedule runs at 15-minute intervals and stops at the following five locations marked by a blue Groove Shuttle sign:

  • The Estates at River Pointe apartments- Front Entrance (Harbor Town)
  • Riverset Apartments - Leasing Office (Harbor Town)
  • A.W. Willis Avenue and 3rd Street (St. Jude Campus)
  • Madison Avenue and Dunlap Street (Dunlap Station Trolley Stop)
  • Southern College of Optometry (Main Tower)

MMDC and its partner organizations initiated the shuttle in an effort to reduce the number of workers who drive alone to work each day to jobs in the Medical District. Approximately 94 percent of the 38,000 people living and working in the Medical District drive alone to school or work each day. That translates to more than 30,000 cars coming to the Medical District which negatively impacts air quality and takes up a high number of parking spaces and opportunities for development. More people driving means fewer people walking around accessing restaurants, businesses and other assets in the Medical District. MMDC surveyed students and employees in the District and found that more than 50 percent of respondents were interested in using a commuter shuttle between home and work.

For more information, contact Transportation Program Manager Lauren Crabtree at lcrabtree@mdcollaborative.org or 901-485-3682.