A bus at the WeGo Central depot
Since well before he was elected, Mayor Freddie O’Connell has touted upgrades to public transportation as a key priority. His transition committee on transit suggested a referendum be presented on the November 2024 ballot, since presidential elections tend to see high voter turnout.
“We have a new mayor whose platform included a transit funding referendum, and he won,” says Jessica Dauphin, president and CEO of the Transit Alliance of Middle Tennessee. “I think that says a whole lot about where the voters are.”
Alex Apple, O’Connell’s deputy communications director, told the Scene in November the recommendation was a “tight turnaround” but added that it wasn’t “unfeasible.” As of the first week of 2024, Apple says the mayor is still “considering whether a transit referendum should be on the ballot in November.” He also says O’Connell is working on how to use existing funding streams for traffic issues.
“You will see investments in transit and transit-related infrastructure in the capital spending plan,” Apple says. “The city is working toward the opening of the Rip Patton North Nashville Transit Center in the next few months. This will increase the number of crosstown routes that WeGo can offer, and it will serve as a great asset for a community that has shown a consistent willingness to embrace more public transportation options.”
Dauphin says she hears people asking for consistent bus routes that don’t have a wait time of 45 or 50 minutes between buses. She also mentions the need for decentralizing the routes and making stops more safe and accessible through sidewalk projects. That’s a big difference from the $9 billion light rail and rapid bus transit improvement proposed by former Mayor Megan Barry, which failed by referendum shortly after Barry’s resignation in 2018.
“It’s better to take the pragmatic approach,” Dauphin says. “Be responsible with what we have, and give it a little glow-up. Make it work for us in a way it hasn’t yet, and show people that it can be reliable and a quality-of-life booster. I think once you do that, then you prove concept that people might take light rail seriously.”
WeGo route maps
O’Connell has met with the Greater Nashville Regional Council and Regional Transit Authority to work on transit ideas. He has also met with transit leaders from across the country, like Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner, at the American Public Transportation Association Conference. Recently, the mayor named Tanisha Hall the director of transit and mobility, and another transportation hire may be announced soon.
Hall will help “assess if a referendum is feasible this year,” Apple says. And if they determine that it is, she will work on that plan. He adds that Hall will also work on projects like the recent grant for Nolensville Road improvements and other federal funding opportunities for improvements.
Even though the mayor’s office is still leaving the possibility of a referendum wide open, the pressure is on from the community.
“What I’m seeing more of than ever before really is this palpable energy, if not urgency, to get some solutions,” Dauphin says. “A lot of times when you’re digging for what solutions folks are wanting, you’ll find that they’re very pragmatic, very practical updates and improvements.”
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