Choose How You Move officials outline ridership gains and July service upgrades to Route 18

Sabrina Sussman, chief program officer for the Choose How You Move program, told a joint Transportation and Infrastructure and Budget & Finance committee meeting that the program is scaling operations to match Nashville’s rapid growth and that national attention is accelerating local opportunities. “Everyone is watching Nashville,” Sussman said, noting the city will host the National Association of City Transportation Officials in May 2027.

Sussman said the Journey Pass program, launched in fall and formally in November, has delivered more than 1,600,000 rides and has registered more than 11,000 riders (figures dated May 19). She said those operating dollars support WeGo Public Transit service changes and expansions that are on a six-month cycle, with the next set of service changes taking effect July 5.

“We are very excited about some of these changes,” Sussman said. Andrew Walczak, finance manager for Choose How You Move, said the FY26 program budget was projected at roughly $164 million and that as of late May the program had collected about three-quarters of that projection. Walczak said the FY27 revenue assumption is conservatively set at $169 million (2.8% growth). He said the program budgets both operating and capital needs and that roughly three quarters of operating dollars are passed to WeGo for transit service.

Steve Bland, chief executive officer of WeGo Public Transit, described specific changes to Route 18, the line most used by airport employees. “Frequencies range today from about 45 minutes at the most frequent to 60 minutes at the least frequent,” Bland said. He said service on Route 18 will move to about 30-minute frequency for most of the day with 45-minute service in the evening; staff will add an extra bus and reroute to avoid an at-grade railroad crossing that frequently causes delays. Bland added that the airport stop will remain in its current location until a new transportation center is constructed.

Sussman also described support from America Forward: Nashville was selected as the sole city to receive dedicated technical assistance on Federal Transit Administration Capital Investment Grant (CIG) strategy and project delivery. Staff said national experts have run workshops and will return for two days of local briefings and recommendations on expediting project delivery and workforce strategies.

The chair noted there were no items to vote on at the joint meeting, and the committees did not require a quorum. The Budget & Finance committee was scheduled to begin later in the evening.