Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell on Thursday provided details of how his proposed transit referendum would expand lines and services for the city’s bus system.
O’Connell posted the details to the social media platform X, where he wrote the bus transit improvements are “a key element” of his referendum. The mayor confirmed, “We’ll have local, frequent, new, and express service updates.”
The plans posted by the mayor suggest a number of new bus lines that will operate daily, from 4:30 a.m. until midnight, with buses running every 30 minutes.
O’Connell also seeks to modify some lines to run continuously without breaking at midnight. During peak hours, O’Connell would see these lines of buses run every 15 minutes and every 20 minutes in the evening, with buses running every 30 minutes overnight. O’Connell’s plans also include multiple express routes for bus passengers.
“We’ll be able to expand jobs access, childcare access, grocery access and generally lower the cost of household transportation for tens of thousands of families across the city,” argued O’Connell.
The mayor added, “If you’re not a regular rider, you’ll still have an easier time accessing special events.”
I’ve shared some draft concept maps about signals and sidewalks.
But a key element of our proposed transportation improvement program will be #transit service upgrades.
We’ll have local, frequent, new, and express service updates.https://t.co/1GqsUDPGbu pic.twitter.com/xglRV1ThYR
— Freddie O’Connell (@freddieoconnell) April 10, 2024
O’Connell plans to reveal the full details of his transit referendum next Friday.
So far, the mayor has also confirmed it includes plans for 600 modern traffic signals, 83 miles of new sidewalks, and new continuous bus lines with stops in Murfreesboro, Gallatin, Dickerson, and Nolensville.
However, the mayor’s desire to include traffic signals and sidewalks in the referendum could be illegal under the 2017 IMPROVE Act, according to Nashville Tea Party founder Ben Cunningham, who made the remarks during his Tuesday appearance on The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
Cunningham told Leahy, the editor-in-chief of The Tennessee Star, that the law was created to give Tennessee’s four largest cities an “opportunity to increase taxes through a voter referendum for a mass transit system.”
He explained, “What [O’Connell’s] doing is taking those elements, putting them into this IMPROVE Act referendum and the IMPROVE Act was never meant to include those elements.”
Cunningham, who previously described O’Connell’s transit referendum as a “greendoggle,” said the law stipulates O’Connell is only allowed to raise taxes for “mass transit: buses, trains,” or other forms of locomotion defined as “shared transport.”
The watchdog has warned that federal transportation funding is set to expire, leaving the sales tax increase insufficient to pay for O’Connell’s plans. Should that happen, Cunningham predicted the Metro Nashville Council would make up the difference with property tax increases.
Should Nashville voters approve the tax increase requested by O’Connell, the top sales tax paid by consumers in the city would be 10.25 percent.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Freddie O’Connell” by Freddie O’Connell. Background Photo “Proposed Bus Route” by Freddie O’Connell.
