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Nashville transit referendum

Nashville voters will soon decide whether to dedicate a portion of sales taxes revenues to transportation and transit across Davidson County. A ballot measure — voters simply choose "for" or "against" the proposal — appears on the ballot on Nov. 5. There's also an arly voting period from Oct. 16 to 31.

WPLN's ongoing coverage breaks down what's in the plan and some of the key questions in front of voters.

We recommend starting with these stories:

  • Faster buses, more sidewalks, and new transit centers: Details of Nashville’s transit improvement plan
  • Here’s exactly what voters will read on the ballot.
  • Nashville’s proposed transit sales tax could burden low-income residents. Here’s how the city would try to offset the impact.
  • How Nashville’s 2024 referendum compares to what voters rejected in 2018
  • Answers to your referendum questions

Public transit — mayoral candidates respond to a WPLN listener’s question

Cynthia Abrams

August 2, 2023

WPLN asked Nashville’s mayoral candidates questions from listeners. Here’s what they had to say on public transportation.

Filed Under: Metro, Politics, WPLN News Tagged With: cars, mayor, Mayor's race 2023, mayoral candidates, Mayoral election, Mayoral Race 2023, Nashville mayoral race, Nashville transit referendum, public transit, public transportation, rail network, traffic, traffic fatalities, train, transit, transportation, WeGo

Can Nashville ever overhaul its transit system? Here’s what the candidates for mayor think.

Cynthia Abrams

June 8, 2023

Listen

Five years after a plan to revamp Nashville’s transportation network was defeated, the candidates in this year’s mayoral election are rethinking what public transit looks like in the city as it struggles to support its explosive growth.

Filed Under: Metro, WPLN News Tagged With: civic design center, mayoral candidates, Mayoral Race 2023, metro, Nashville Metro Council, Nashville transit referendum, neighbor 2 neighbor, public transit, transit, Transit Alliance of Middle Tennessee, transit funding, Trevecca Nazarene University, Urban Housing Solutions, Walk Bike Nashville

Conversation: With Hindsight, There Are More Lessons In Nashville’s Failed Transit Plan

Tony GonzalezandRachel Iacovone

January 24, 2020

Nashville WeGo bus

This week, many in Nashville are re-examining the mass transit referendum that voters defeated in 2018.

Filed Under: WPLN News Tagged With: John Cooper, mass transit, Nashville transit referendum, TransitCenter, transportation

Why Did Nashville’s 2018 Transit Plan Fail? New Report Dishes Out Sharp Criticisms.

Tony Gonzalez

January 22, 2020

Nashville bus station

A national pro-transit group is offering a comprehensive look-back at why Nashville voters rejected a mass transit plan two years ago, and offering sharp critiques of the administration of former Mayor Megan Barry and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.

Filed Under: Metro, WPLN News Tagged With: mass transit, Megan Barry, Nashville transit referendum, transportation

Nashville Mayor Says He’s Ready To Start On Next Transit Plan

Chas Sisk

May 3, 2018

Listen Nashville Mayor David Briley says he’s setting to work on a new plan for mass transit in Nashville following this week’s defeat of a $5.4 billion proposal featuring light rail. Briley says he’s already spoken with some opponents of the failed transit plan, and he intends to push forward with improvements to the city’s […]

Filed Under: Politics, WPLN News Tagged With: Amazon, Nashville transit referendum

Conversation: How Nashville Voted On Transit, And What’s Next

Tony Gonzalez

May 3, 2018

Listen Whether for or against Nashville’s failed multi-billion-dollar mass transit plan, the question for Nashville residents has become: What led to such a lopsided vote?

Filed Under: WPLN News Tagged With: elections 2018, Nashville transit referendum

Nashville Transit Chief: ‘Problem Not Going Away’

Tony Gonzalez

May 2, 2018

Listen Now that it’s decided that Nashville won’t expand its transit system, the head of the MTA says his team must continue looking for other ways to improve.   Steve Bland expects to analyze the election results and come back to voters again. Bland says he’s “absolutely certain” that traffic congestion is getting worse, so […]

Filed Under: Politics, WPLN News Tagged With: elections 2018, Nashville transit referendum

Nashville Voters Deal Emphatic Defeat To Transit Proposal

Tony Gonzalez

May 2, 2018

Listen Nashville voters resoundingly rejected the multi-billion-dollar transit proposal Tuesday — telling officials to find another way to respond to the city’s growth and traffic congestion. In the end, it wasn’t even close. Some 64 percent of Nashville voters went against the plan. That’s in an election that drew a surprising turnout of more than 120,000 […]

Filed Under: Politics, WPLN News Tagged With: elections 2018, Nashville transit referendum

Live Updates: Briley, Other Transit Supporters Concede Defeat

WPLN Staff

May 1, 2018

Supporters of the transit plan conceded defeat shortly after 8 p.m. after early returns showed an insurmountable lead for opponents of the plan.

Filed Under: WPLN News Tagged With: elections 2018, Nashville transit referendum

Nashville Transit Battle Lines: Who Ended Up In Favor And Opposed

Tony Gonzalez

April 30, 2018

Nashville polling place with a "voter please wait here until called" sign

Listen Phone calls, mailers, text messages, door knocking and a crush of TV ads have blanketed Nashvillians in the final days before the city’s vote on a multi-billion-dollar mass transit proposal. The ground game has intensified — and diversified — in the final hours, and a few last public endorsements, for and against, have come […]

Filed Under: WPLN News Tagged With: Nashville transit referendum, transportation

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