How Do You Get from Nashville Airport to Downtown?

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  • 7 sections
  • 1 table
  • 8 sources cited

You get from BNA to downtown Nashville by rideshare, taxi, WeGo’s Route 18 bus, a shuttle, or a rental car, and every option except the rental car starts at the Ground Transportation Center on Level 1 of Terminal Garage 2. To find it, exit the terminal on Level 1, turn right, and follow the Ground Transportation signs. The bus costs $2, the taxi has a flat fare to downtown, and rideshare prices move with demand. There is no train.

The Options Side by Side

Option Where to find it Cost to downtown Best for
Uber or Lyft Ride App Pickup: Lyft at Zone A, Uber at Zones B and C set by the app when you request; higher at busy times travelers who want door-to-door service
Taxi Taxis/Limo signs flat rate of $30, plus $2 per extra passenger, to downtown or the Opryland area groups, or when rideshare prices spike
WeGo Route 18 bus Shuttles/Buses signs; purple WeGo stop $2 solo travelers with light luggage
Shared or private shuttle Shuttles/Buses signs varies by company travelers who want a booked ride to a hotel
Rental car rental car counters rental rate plus downtown parking travelers heading beyond downtown

Sources: pickup zones, taxi rate, and shuttle signs are from Vanderbilt’s guide to transportation from BNA, which says the Metro government sets the taxi rate; bus details are from WeGo. Rates and pickup zones can change, so confirm the taxi fare with the driver before the ride starts and follow the airport’s signs on the day.

Rideshare

Request the ride once you have your bags and are standing in the Ground Transportation Center; drivers may leave and charge a cancellation fee if they are kept waiting, the Vanderbilt guide notes. The app shows the estimated fare before you accept. Prices rise in periods of high demand, so on a Friday or Saturday night it is worth comparing the app price with the taxi’s flat fare.

Taxi

The flat fare covers trips between the airport and downtown or the Opryland area. For a group of three or four, the flat fare plus $2 per extra passenger can come out below a rideshare at a busy time. Ask whether the driver takes cards before you load your bags.

WeGo Route 18

Route 18 runs from the Ground Transportation Center to the Elizabeth Duff Transit Center at WeGo Central downtown, 400 Dr. Martin L. King Jr. Blvd. The fare is $2, paid with the QuickTicket app, a contactless card or phone, or exact cash; a QuickTicket or contactless fare is a two-hour pass, so a connecting bus downtown is included. Express trips take about 20 minutes and local trips 35 to 45 minutes (WeGo). Since July 5, 2026, the route has run every 30 minutes from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day and every 40 minutes in the evening (WSMV). If you land late, check the last trip of the day for your date on the Route 18 schedule, which also posts detours.

Shuttles and Hotel Vans

Several shuttle companies serve the airport, and some, such as Nashville Express Airport Shuttle and CitiValet, take you to your exact address, according to the Vanderbilt guide. Because flights can run late, check the company’s cancellation policy before you book. Some downtown hotels run their own airport shuttle, so ask your hotel before you arrive.

Rental Car

A rental car makes sense if your plans reach beyond downtown; add the cost of hotel or garage parking downtown before you book one. Whether a car is worth it for your trip is weighed in do you need a car in Nashville.

Is There a Train?

No. The WeGo Star commuter train runs between Lebanon and Riverfront Station downtown on weekdays and does not stop at the airport (WeGo Star). Earlier transit overhauls, including the Let’s Move Nashville light rail proposal, failed. On November 5, 2024, Davidson County voters approved Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s Choose How You Move program, a half-cent sales tax increase for transportation, with 66% of the vote (Wikipedia summary); WeGo says the program funds its current bus service changes (WeGo service changes). In February 2026 the airport authority’s finance committee recommended approval of a proposed agreement with The Boring Company for a downtown-to-BNA tunnel, which still needed the airport board’s approval as of an August 2026 report (WSMV). For now, Route 18 is the only public transit link.

How long the drive takes at different times of day is in how far BNA is from downtown.

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