WeGo tells council budget would expand service, add buses and a low‑income fare subsidy

Gail Carr Williams, chair of the Metropolitan Transit Authority board, and WeGo CEO Steve Bland told the Metro Budget & Finance Committee on May 20 that Mayor John O’Connell’s Choose How You Move program and the administration’s FY25‑26 budget proposal together would fund near‑term service improvements, new vehicles and an expanded low‑income fare subsidy.

"These funds will enable us to jump start several significant project and service initiatives," Carr Williams said, naming weekend expansion of Access on Demand paratransit, two new WeGo Link zones and an expansion in the agency’s transit security program.

The report to the committee said if the council adopts the mayor’s budget, customers would see route changes beginning July 6 including improved midday frequency on Route 6 (Lebanon Pike), and improved weekend service on Routes 23 (Dickerson Pike), 50 (Charlotte Pike) and 56 (Gallatin Pike). Bland said a further round of service changes is planned for January 2026, including earlier Sunday starts (5:15 a.m., up from 6:15 a.m.) on 13 busy routes and extending Sunday service end times from 11:15 p.m. to 1:15 a.m. to match the rest of the week.

Bland said the mayor’s program and the proposed budget would permit rolling out a Lyft‑based low‑income fare subsidy by the end of the calendar year. "The…