Nashville opens new queue jump bus lane, launches fare-free transit program for eligible riders
The city of Nashville, Tenn., has introduced a new queue jump lane on Murfreesboro Road for public transit and announced the Journey Pass program, offering qualifying Nashvillians to ride WeGo transit fare free.
"A year ago, we were seeing our traffic worsen and our infrastructure fall farther behind but here we stand one year later with a plan for generational change that listened to the 66,000 pieces of feedback Nashvillians gave us, and we've moved from referendum to ribbon cuttings,” said Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell. "This is government that works. This is putting our dollars to work in a way that improves all of our lives and brings down the average cost of transportation for Nashville households."
In the first year of its Choose How You Move program, the city has begun to implement $163 million in further projects.
"We are prioritizing projects that directly touch Nashvillians lives,” said Choose How You Move Chief Program Officer Sabrina Sussman. “With a mix of short-, medium- and long-term investments, we are modernizing outdated technology, making roads safer regardless of how you use them and caring for our fixed and low-income neighbors with programs like Journey Pass.”
Journey Pass
Journey Pass is an income-based free fare program for eligible Davidson County residents. Journey Pass offers recipients of Metro social service programs no-cost access to public transit. The program's next phase will enable income-based eligibility will begin in 2026.
According to the city, 2,500 residents have already enrolled in the Journey Pass to date and have taken more than 10,000 transit trips. WeGo and Metro agencies, including the Metro Development and Housing Agency, Metro Action Commission and the Metro Public Health Department, co-hosted early registration events for the new program.
In partnership with the Mayor’s office and Metro departments, WeGo has also added additional signup opportunities for the program to combat the financial strain created by the ongoing lapse in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits due to the federal government shutdown.
The city's first Choose How You Move queue jump project was just finished as an effort to help traffic move more efficiently. The Murfreesboro Pike, Edge O Lake queue jump lane creates a right-hand lane for buses to pass backlogged vehicle traffic. When the bus arrives at the intersection, a special signal will allow the bus to clear the intersection approximately seven seconds before other vehicle traffic enters. That bypass opportunity could save up to four minutes by allowing buses to bypass 1,400 feet of queued traffic.
The city notes that data shows when buses run on time, conveniently and reliably, more people choose the thinning individual car traffic on the roadway.
The Murfreesboro Road Route 55 bus route hosted the highest system-wide ridership in the third quarter of 2025, leading WeGo and the Choose How You Move team to focus on the area first. Overall, WeGo ridership is up 4% year to date.
One Year of Choose How You Move
Three preliminary priorities were established for the Choose How You Move Program:
- Setting up a new transportation advisory committee.
- Hiring a Chief Program Officer.
- Holding information sessions for venders interested in working on the program.
Metro Council approved a supplemental budget request that funded work on 11 foundational projects within the first four months of the program operation. This funding also gave WeGo riders a service expansion, providing extended hours and more options.
Choose How You Move operations and improvements are funded via the fiscal year 2026 Metro budget, including 29 officers for Nashville's first Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) transit safety division. Choose How You Move announced in October the latest $104 million in capital projects for what it calls a better transportation future for all Nashvillians. Those projects prioritize Nolensville Pike and Gallatin Pike, as well as key downtown routes as first All-Access Corridors see significant movement.
WeGo Ride partnerships
Mayor O'Connell has also announced 19 new partnerships in the WeGo Ride program, an opportunity that allows schools, businesses and other organizations the chance to offer their employees or students to ride at no cost to them, since November 2024 for a total of 60 partners.