Voters in November across the country will be making decisions on transportation ballot measures. From public transit expansion to street improvements, transportation ballot measures are key policy mechanisms that determine how governments fund, prioritize, and think about transportation issues.  

This holds true in Nashville, Tennessee, where voters on November 5th will decide on a significant measure focusing on a myriad of transportation modes. The measure calls for a half-cent sales tax increase that will fund a major new transportation improvement plan, which promises, among other things: 

• Bus Rapid Transit and other new bus service, serving Nashville and parts of Davidson County, along “All-Access Corridors” 

• Improvements to the existing bus network, with increased frequencies, new routes, and expanded 24-hour service every day of the year 

• New transit centers, adding almost a dozen to the current three transit centers 

• 86 miles of new sidewalks and safe-street improvements along high-injury corridors 

• Almost 600 upgraded or new traffic signals 

• 17 new park-and-ride facilities, some near transit centers 

This is not the first time a large transportation initiative was on the ballot in Nashville. Voters turned down a measure in 2018 to approve the “Let’s Move Nashville” project, with 64 percent voting against the measure to approve the program and 36 percent in favor. “Let’s Move Nashville” was seen as an ambitious project that proposed several light rail transit lines, around 25 miles of bus rapid transit, and large infrastructure projects in downtown Nashville. The $5.4 billion plan, proposed by then-Mayor Megan Barry, came after Tennessee had passed the IMPROVE Act in 2017. The legislation authorized tax cuts, infrastructure improvements, and allows cities to devote a portion of tax revenue for transit, including sales tax revenue. An ETW piece from 2018 provides a detailed discussion on the reasons behind the failed measure, including issues in community engagement and funding. A report from Transit Center also discusses the issues behind the outcome, citing a hasty rollout and inconsistent planning.  

The 2024 measure is set to be voted on November 5th, and requires a simple majority to pass. The total cost of the proposed projects under the measure is estimated around $3.1 billion. 

The Choose How You Move Program 

At the heart of the 2024 transit measure in Nashville is the city’s Choose How You Move transportation improvement program. Public transit in and around Nashville is provided by WeGo Transit, which offers bus and commuter rail services. Proposed by Mayor Freddie O’Connell, the program, while not as expensive as the previous 2018 transportation plan, provides a significant array of transportation improvements and expansion for residents of the city of Nashville and Davidson County.  

The need for a transportation improvement plan is clear. Nashville is among the fastest growing cities in the country. Between 2021 and 2023, the city of Nashville experienced a 2 percent increase in population. The Nashville metropolitan area experienced a 3.4 percent increase in population between 2021 and 2023. With a growing population, Nashville and its surrounding area are dealing with increasing congestion, to the point where a 2023 Forbes report cited Nashville with the toughest commute in the country, out of 25 cities.  

As the population is increasing, so too are housing and transportation costs. Home prices increased 62 percent over the past five years and average rent increased 71 percent between 2020 and 2022. Households are also facing higher transportation costs, with Nashville households spending 20 percent of their income on transportation, based on the regional median income of $84,685. The national average in 2022 was around 18 percent of income on transportation, when looking at the fourth quintile of national income ($83,696 to 140,362).  

There are several elements of the Choose How You Move program addressing different modes of transportation.  

Bus Services:  

• New “All-Access Corridors” along Nashville and the surrounding area’s busiest pikes and roadways. The plan proposes running transit service every 15 minutes, with 54 miles of high-capacity transit corridors, including some bus rapid transit. 

• Upgrades to 285 bus stops including street lighting, improved shelters, improved signage, and charging ports. The improvements are made to make a pleasant bus stop waiting experience.  

• New park-and-ride facilities for people who rely on driving to transit stations and centers, each with 100 to 200 parking spaces.  

• A Frequent Service Network, with buses running every 15 to 20 minutes during the day and 20 to 30 minutes in the evening. Service along the Frequent Service Network will be 24-hour, every day of the year. 

• A Local Service Network with expanded service between 4:30 am to midnight seven days a week. Additional route extensions and connector routes to serve special event spaces. 

• Express bus services, with fewer stops. 

Commuter Rail Services:

• Expanded WeGo Star commuter rail services that are evenly spread throughout the day rather than concentrating service during the mornings and evenings. 

Transit Centers:

• 12 new transit centers, which the plan presents as mobility hubs. These are places that have multi-modal connections to transit, bikeshare, parking, and rideshare. Transit centers provide walkable spaces with future access to housing, parks, and retail. The plan envisions five types of centers: downtown, neighborhood, on-street, regional, and airport transit centers.  

Complete Streets:

• An increase of 86 miles of new or upgraded sidewalks.  

• Safety improvements along 78 miles of the Vision Zero High-Injury Network, which identifies streets that have high rates of injuries or fatalities. 

• Safety improvements along 39 miles of streets, including improved intersections, better traffic signaling, and improved bikeways. 

• Upgrades to almost 600 traffic signals. 

Funding: 

The plan notes that Nashville is experiencing a funding challenge, citing Nashville as one of four cities in the top 50 metro areas in the country without dedicated transportation funding. As a mechanism to increase transportation funding, the plan looks to a sales tax increase as a viable funding mechanism. The proposed sales tax increase is estimated to generate $150 million per year in local transportation revenue, the largest share of funding of all Nashville’s transportation funding sources, as shown in Figure 1 below.  

Source: Nashville Department of Transportation. Transportation Improvement Plan: Choose How You Move  

The transportation improvement plan assumes a continuation of federal, state, local, and farebox funding. Federal funding generally comes from formula funds like the Urbanized Area Grant mass transit formula program or the Surface Transportation Block Grant highway formula program that gets sub-allocated to Nashville. The plan also assumes that “the sales tax surcharge provides the opportunity to leverage and compete for additional federal discretionary grants [including] the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grant Program, a highly competitive program that would serve as a major potential source of funding for the All-Access Corridors.” The CIG program pays for up to 60 percent of the capital cost of new rail transit or bus rapid transit corridors and extensions, and the chart assumes successful applications to CIG will result in “new start” or “small start” funding equal to 13 percent of total plan funding.   

Impact of the Transit Measure 

The November 5th vote on Nashville’s Choose How You Move transportation improvement plan is significant. A vote in favor of the measure will usher in new efforts by Nashville to improve its city and regional transportation network. Improvements to the bus, rail, roadway, and pedestrian networks may have a great impact on connectivity in the region, connecting people across Davidson County to employment opportunities, transit connections, retail, housing, and park space. It will take time to fully understand the impact of these efforts on congestion and transportation costs in the Nashville area. Expanding bus and rail services, adding frequencies, development along corridors, and street improvements take time and significant planning, but the decision to approve the plan is a step towards those improvements. Ultimately, the voters’ decision on Nashville’s transportation improvement plan will act as a sign of commitment from the community to improved transportation for Nashville and the surrounding region.  

The Eno Center for Transportation does not formally endorse or oppose any transportation ballot measures.