Public Transportation and Getting Around Nashville

Tomorrow’s election won’t just decide the president. 

Nashville voters will weigh in on Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s transit plan.

The idea is to create consistent funding for long-term projects through an increased sales tax, part of a 15-year vision. 

But for students at Belmont University right now, the current public transportation system can be inconvenient and sometimes uncomfortable.  

The WeGo buses are at the core of Nashville’s public transit network. As far as options not on the road, walking on sidewalks remains the only real alternative.  

But most students opt for a car.  

There are 6,902 students with vehicles registered with the Office of Campus Security, said Taylor Gray, Campus Security’s executive officer. 

Belmont’s website says that there are 8,803 students currently enrolled. This means about 78% of students have cars. 

“It’s definitely just more convenient to have your own car,” said Jessica Soesanto, a junior at Belmont. 

Soesanto, a Nashville native, took the WeGo buses to school starting in eighth grade. Despite initial hesitation from her mother, it was a good experience, she said.  

Now that she goes to Belmont, she drives. 

“And it's just so sad because I want to use the bus more often,” said Soesanto. “At the moment, there's no bus that goes all the way directly to my house.” 

Belmont offers free bus rides to and from campus through a collaboration with WeGo. In an email, the Office of External Relation’s Canesha Conger said this program averages 1,400 rides per month. This figure accounts for rides by students, faculty, staff and Sodexo employees. 

But the bus doesn’t work for everyone. 

Senior Elliot Alomoto walks almost every day from an off campus apartment. Without access to a car, navigating the city becomes a challenge. 

“If I want to go somewhere, I kind of have to plan the entire day around it because it's going to take forever,” Alomoto said.  

Kate Foley faces a different barrier: safety. 

Foley, a senior who has a five-minute walk to campus, says she never walks at night and rarely off campus. In those situations, she drives. 

“I have never felt threatened around Belmont, but I like to take precautions,” said Foley. 

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This video and article was made by Luke Ayers