WeGo ridership steadily increases as Nashville ramps up transit investments

More Nashvillians are taking the bus. WeGo’s latest ridership numbers show a total of 10.6 million rides over the previous fiscal year, continuing the trend of rising ridership in the years since the pandemic.

In fact, the latest numbers come close to the all-time ridership high set in 2015 (totaling 10.76 million rides).

“It’s awesome to see this jump in ridership,” Mayor Freddie O’Connell said in a statement. “Nashville is proving that when we invest in transit, people use it. Thanks to Choose How You Move, investments like expanded service and Journey Pass are removing barriers and providing real alternatives to driving alone.”

Ridership had held steady in the years preceding the pandemic. But, after a 2019 reduction in bus service and the onset of COVID-19, ridership dropped by nearly half in 2020 and 2021.

As the city began to open back up, WeGo’s numbers began to tick back up. But, the latest round of statistics has been aided by more than just post-pandemic jumps: increased transit funding has facilitated extended service hours, improved frequency and, for some, access to free rides.

In the 2024 transit referendum, Nashville voters greenlit a half-cent sales tax increase to directly fund transit. As a part of that vote, the mayor introduced a plan to revitalize the city’s transit system over the course of 15 years. And, while some of the more major undertakings of that plan — like overhauls of some major corridors or construction of a dozen new transit centers — are still years away from fruition, other ridership-boosting elements have been realized.

That includes Journey Pass, the city’s free fare program. The program, which provides three-year free bus passes for qualifying residents, was initially rolled out late last year, as many Nashvillians faced financial instability amid the extended government shutdown and frozen benefits.

Earlier this month, the program expanded the list of documents that can qualify residents for a pass. The update now accepts documents from the Housing Choice Voucher Program, Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, Tennessee Assistance for Needy Families, TennCare Medicaid; and Women, Infants & Children (WIC) Program.

At the time of the expansion, more than 12,500 residents had received a Journey Pass.