For those in the Murfreesboro area ready for a night out in Nashville with friends, a group trip or a celebration for a special occasion, Turners Transportation and Travel will carry groups of up to 24 on “all types of travel and adventures,” as business owner Ricky Turner says.

The local entrepreneur, a Murfreesboro native who formerly ran the Cedar Bucket Restaurant, was employed at Nissan and doing Uber and Lyft as a side hustle in the summer of 2016.

“I took a leap of faith,” he said, and he launched his travel and transportation company. “Now it’s my livelihood.”

“None of the Murfreesboro hotels have airport shuttles,” Turner said, noting that his company frequently makes runs from Murfreesboro to the Nashville International Airport.

Wanting to set himself apart from the popular Uber and Lyft services, Turner focuses on transporting larger groups.

“On weekends I take a lot of the college students downtown,” Turner said. “A group of 12 or 15 can all ride together, for maybe $50 per person.

“Every now and then I have a personal car I can take if it’s just one or two people, but I do mainly groups.”

For the first vehicle in the Turners Transportation and Travel fleet, Turner converted a regular passenger van into a party bus that seats about 12. Dubbed “Cashville,” this vehicle displays a bright, multi-colored exterior featuring a musical and concert theme and images of the Nashville skyline, and bench seating along each side inside so passengers can face one another, quite appropriate for a night of fun in Music City.

“Cashville started it all,” Turner said. “Some of the MTSU students started calling it ‘Uber Lit.’”

A more traditional and streamlined black Ford Transit XL offers seating for 15 and lots of luggage space for the business travelers.

And the largest bus, NashVegas, has 24 seat belts. This party bus with multi-colored lights, music, a large TV and even karaoke can accommodate quite a party.

“My aim is to entertain them while they get from point A to point B,” Turner said.

One pleased customer, Jenny Harper, agreed that Turners Transportation and Travel “can keep you entertained on the way to your destination” and that Turner was “reliable, very professional, always on time and very kind.”

In late April 2020, with so many gatherings, events and celebrations put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Turner, a U.S. Navy veteran, said he was in “dry dock mode,” a time to rest and strategize and keep the ships maintained. But he believes that people will be itching to get out and socialize and attend events this summer. Turner hopes to take a group to the Kentucky Derby, which has been rescheduled from the first weekend in May to the first weekend in September.

Whether a group wants to go to the club or to the book club, to a wedding or to a professional conference, they can give Turner a call for all types of group transportation needs.

Mary Connolly said Turners helped immensely when transportation plans for a wedding party and guests needing to get from Murfreesboro to Lascassas and back changed with very short notice.

“Our decision to go with Turner was very last-minute when we realized early in the day that ride app services would be much more expensive, require multiple cars for the large party and difficult to get for a late-night ride back. Ricky responded within minutes of my message and was able to accommodate our needs and our timing. The service was safe, reasonably priced and truly outstanding!

“We had three separate trips with Turner Transportation in one day,” the customer continued. This included an initial trip getting seven bridesmaids and all of their dresses, a cake and other items to the wedding site in Lascassas in the afternoon; guest transportation to the wedding site in the evening; and then the late-night return of bridesmaids and guests to Murfreesboro.

“When he picked us up for the return trip to Murfreesboro he ‘warned’ us that he would be using the party bus. What a wonderful surprise,” Connolly said. “The party van was spotless, and had all the bells and whistles a party van should have—flashy lights, comfortable seating and a great Bluetooth sound system to connect with music on a phone. Thank you, Ricky, for making me the cool mom!”

Connolly said her group found the vehicles to be spotlessly clean and the service safe, reasonably priced, on time, professional and pleasant.

“First-class service right down to his dress slacks, suit coat and hat!” she said.

In 2019 Turner took a group of high school seniors on a college tour through the South, and has also worked with little kids’ birthday parties, bachelorette parties, employee outings, business trips and other group trips.

Groups can let Mr. Turner know what their itinerary is, and if the group would like to eat somewhere in particular prior to being dropped off at a concert or event, and he will take care of the transportation safely and professionally.

Turner said that networking with quality local professionals has caused his business to grow, and wanted to give a special shout-out to Rita Ash, who he calls his “biggest supporter and advertiser.” He mainly wants the community to know that a local guy who grew up in the area now offers this service for the people of Murfreesboro.

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For more information on Turners Transportation and Travel or to get your group outing on the schedule, call 615-713-7836 or visit turners-transportation-travel-services-llc.ueniweb.com.

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