Riders queue up in WeGo Central. (Photo: John Partipilo)
Nashville’s decisive transit plan victory Tuesday is part of a national wave of successful transit ballot measures this year, positioning transit as an issue capable of unifying voters across the political spectrum.
Nashville voters approved a half-cent sales tax increase to help fund a $3.1 billion, 15-year plan to improve sidewalks, bike lanes, traffic signals and bus service in Davidson County. The plan saw 65.5% support, a complete reversal from a 2018 transit plan attempt that failed 64% to 36%.
Voters across the nation supported 19 out of 26 pro-transit ballot measures, approving more than $25 billion in public transportation spending, according to an election results analysis by the American Public Transportation Association. The nonprofit monitors and supports transit ballot measures.
Pro-transit measures passed in Arizona, California, Colorado, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Michigan, Virginia and Washington, joining 20 additional 2024 transit initiatives approved prior to the Nov. 5 election. Overall, transit notched 46 wins out of 53 ballot measures, an 87% success rate.
“No matter if you live in a red state, a blue state, a purple state or anywhere in between, if you’re rural, if you’re urban, people support transit … regardless of the political makeup,” APTA Center for Transportation Excellence Executive Director Jessica Brennan said during a post-election webinar Thursday.
Brennan has been working to support ballot measures since 2018, and said part of public transit’s success over the past decade has come from prioritizing long-term planning.
“These measures were not just presented as temporary fixes, but part of the broader vision for building more livable and sustainable communities,” she said.
2024 transit votes across the U.S.
In Arizona, 60% of Maricopa County voters greenlit the extension of a half-cent sales tax to continue funding the maintenance and operation of public transportation and light rail. Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said the measure did not have an organized opposition this time around, something she says comes from hard work to address past concerns and issues.
Mass transit efforts have had a complicated history in Maricopa County. Voters approved a regional sales tax bump to fund freeway construction in 1985, but an early effort to similarly fund mass transit was shot down. Phoenix and Tempe began funding their own transit projects with citywide taxes, and in 2004, voters approved the continuation of the regional transportation tax, this time allowing funds to be used for transit initiatives. Getting the proposed extension of that sales tax for another 20 years on this year’s ballot was a feat of its own that required approval from Arizona’s state legislature and the cooperation of 32 mayors, county supervisors and tribal chairs.
Roughly 78% of Miami-Dade County voters agreed in August that the county needs to expand its existing mass transit system, which includes passenger rail. Miami-Dade County Commissioner Eileen Higgins said putting the question on the ballot was a way to gauge voter support for future transit plans prior to asking for funding, which will come in a proposed bond referendum in 2026.
Other wins championed by APTA include funding for bus rapid transit lines in Columbus, Ohio, the retention of funding for Washington public transportation grant programs, and increased operations funding for San Francisco’s Muni system.
Not all measures were successful. Transit ballot measures failed in Charleston County, Anderson County and Beaufort County in South Carolina. Voters in Georgia rejected transit referendums in Gwinnett and Cobb County. Ballot measures also failed in San Diego and South Lake Tahoe, California.
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