While most of the country was transfixed by the presidential vote earlier in November, voters in Nashville quietly supported a major transit plan by a 2-to-1 margin after roundly rejecting a similar one in 2018 by the same margin. It was part of a wave of mass transit-oriented measures that passed this election season, even as Republicans — who tend to oppose mass transit — won many up-ballot races.
Of the 26 transit initiatives, 19 passed for communities including Columbus, Ohio; Maricopa County, Arizona; and metro Denver, Colorado. All told, the initiatives along with other wins earlier in 2024 will raise roughly $25 billion, according to the American Public Transportation Association.
The widespread support reflects the broader reality that “people want to have good transit, they want alternatives, they want their workers to be able to get to their jobs reliably,” said Beth Osborne, vice president for transportation and thriving communities at Smart Growth America. Many communities are choking under growing traffic, and finding building more roads is actually making gridlock worse, but Nashville is a particularly stark case. Its residents have the worst commute in the country due in part to a lack of transit options, according to a 2023 Forbes Home analysis.