For most tourists, Nashville public transit is useful in exactly two scenarios: getting from the airport to downtown, and getting from downtown to the Opry area. Beyond that, you’re better off with Uber or a rental car.
That’s not a knock on the system. It’s just the reality of how Nashville is built and where tourists actually want to go.
What WeGo Actually Offers
Nashville’s public bus system, WeGo, operates 36 bus routes covering all of Davidson County. The main hub is the Elizabeth Duff Transit Center at WeGo Central, a two-story facility on 4th Avenue with climate-controlled waiting areas. All routes radiate outward from downtown.
The fare structure is simple: $2 gets you a 2-hour pass, $4 covers a full day, and $65 covers a month. As of August 2025, WeGo accepts contactless payment by tapping a credit card or phone directly on the reader, with automatic daily fare capping at $4. Cash still works too. The QuickTicket app handles everything digitally.
Eight “frequent” routes run every 15 minutes or less on major corridors. Most local routes run every 20 to 60 minutes. Weekday service generally starts around 5 a.m. and runs to midnight, with reduced service on weekends and holidays.
The two routes tourists actually use:
Route 18 runs between BNA airport and downtown. At $2, it’s the cheapest airport option by far, takes 30 to 35 minutes, and runs every 30 minutes on weekdays and hourly on weekends.
Route 34 connects downtown to the Opryland area, useful if you’re seeing a show at the Grand Ole Opry or staying at the Gaylord Opryland Resort.
Where Transit Fails Tourists
Nashville’s neighborhoods don’t connect well via bus. Getting from East Nashville to 12 South by transit means a trip through downtown and a transfer. Getting from The Gulch to Germantown on a Sunday is a 45-minute exercise that most people abandon after reading the schedule.
The bigger problem is frequency. Even frequent routes run every 15 minutes, which is workable. But many tourist-adjacent routes are 30 to 60 minutes between buses. If you miss a bus, you’re waiting. Nashville doesn’t have the transit density to just walk to the next stop and catch a different line.
There’s also the night problem. Bars close late in Nashville. WeGo buses mostly don’t run past midnight. The overlap between when tourists want to move around and when buses run is imperfect.
The WeGo Star Doesn’t Help Tourists
The WeGo Star commuter rail runs from downtown Riverfront station to Lebanon, Tennessee, 32 miles east. It’s designed for suburban commuters, runs only on weekdays during rush hours, and doesn’t connect to any tourist destination. One-way tickets cost $5.25. The Star is irrelevant to visitors.
The Honest Tourist Assessment
If you’re staying downtown and your entire trip lives within walking distance of Broadway, you don’t need transit at all. If you want to get from the airport to your downtown hotel without renting a car or paying for Uber, Route 18 is genuinely excellent. If you want to visit neighborhoods like East Nashville, 12 South, or Germantown, you’ll spend more time waiting than riding.
Nashville’s 2024 “Choose How You Move” transit referendum passed overwhelmingly, directing a sales tax surcharge toward expanding service. The money is being used, including to increase frequency on some routes. The system is improving, but it’s not there yet as a tourist tool.
The most efficient tourist approach: use WeGo Route 18 from the airport to save money on arrival, then Uber between neighborhoods, and walk within them.
Sources
- WeGo Public Transit: wegotransit.com/ride/maps-schedules/bus
- Wikipedia, “WeGo Public Transit”: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WeGoPublicTransit (updated January 2026)
- NewsChannel 5, “New payment technology adds more options to pay WeGo bus fares” (August 2, 2025): newschannel5.com
- 6th Man Movers, Nashville Public Transportation Guide (April 2025): 6thmanmovers.com
- nashvillesmls.com, “Nashville Public Transportation: 6 Ways to Get Around Music City” (February 2025)