Public transit ridership increased nearly 16 percent in the first few months of the year, compared with the same period in 2025 — a sign that Nashvillians are responding to Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s WeGo push.
Voters approved the half-cent sales tax bump in 2024 that has funded infrastructure projects under O’Connell’s “Choose How You Move” transportation plan. The city broke ground on its first “all-access corridor” this week, a well-traveled stretch between downtown and Harding Pike primarily via Nolensville Road. Steadily increasing bus ridership has followed with a double-digit annual increase between 2025 and 2026. Final statistics for the most recent fiscal year, which ended June 30, will be released in the coming weeks, says WeGo spokesperson Eric Melcher.
“ Fuel prices certainly have been a factor for some folks, improved convenience has been a factor, more businesses going to more days in the office is certainly having positive impact,” opines Steve Bland, CEO of the city’s public transit authority. “If I could figure out where it all came from, I would probably go to Wall Street.”
Bland, who has served as WeGo CEO since 2014, repeated a transit industry maxim: “Frequency is freedom.” Growth was not even across routes; positive momentum has directly followed increases in bus service. Shorter wait times translate to more efficient travel and help build WeGo’s reputation as a dependable transportation option. On Route 18, an Elm Hill Pike loop that only runs every 45 minutes, ridership was down 10 percent compared with last year, for example.
Less than a year into its existence, the fare-free Journey Pass program has enrolled more than 12,000 users and covered over 2 million trips. O’Connell officially launched Journey Pass in November. Backed with CHYM dollars — about $2.8 million in eight months against a $40 million CHYM allocation last fiscal year from Metro — the mayor and Bland credit the program for driving overall WeGo growth.
Dedicated transportation funding and citywide improvements are a signature accomplishment for O’Connell, who is seeking a second term in next year’s mayoral election. Each groundbreaking, photo opp and sidewalk makes for a concrete neighborhood achievement in front of next year’s voters. Sabrina Sussman, CHYM’s chief program officer, even trotted out a slogan that reframes the half-percent sales tax increase as a small price to pay.
“ Sidewalks are connecting communities, signals are getting smarter, service is expanding, streets are getting safer,” Sussman told reporters at O’Connell’s regular Friday media briefing. “That is your half-cent at work, and we're just getting started.”
