Moving Forward Releases In-depth Study of Transit Financing Options

Leaders of the Moving Forward transit initiative have announced findings from a new study analyzing 20 potential local revenue sources for regional transit. The nMotion plan, released by the Metropolitan Nashville Transit Authority and the Regional Transit Authority in September, would require $5.9 billion to be spent over the next 25 years to construct a regional transit system for the 10-county Nashville region.

The Nashville region is one of the few urban centers in the country without a local, dedicated source to fund transportation needs. Yet during the 2016 election, voters in many cities across the country passed new local taxes to fund the expansion of transit infrastructure, including Atlanta, Raleigh, Indianapolis, Seattle, Charleston, S.C. and Los Angeles.

To provide information to elected leaders and the public on local dedicated funding, Moving Forward commissioned the Victoria Transport Policy Institute (VTPI) to analyze potential revenue sources for regional transit. After studying 20 options, VTPI recommended these seven for more detailed economic modeling:

  • Sales taxes
  • Property taxes
  • Wheel taxes
  • Tourist services taxes
  • Parking taxes
  • Gasoline taxes
  • Land value capture taxes

Moving Forward hasn't yet endorsed any of these options; the study is intended to provide background to local elected officials and voters in the 10 counties as we continue to evaluate funding for our regional transit infrastructure. Ultimately, it will be up to elected leaders and voters to decide which revenue sources make sense to fund transportation infrastructure in our region.

Some of the options will require enabling legislation from the Tennessee General Assembly in order to realize their full potential, which Moving Forward will advocate for when the legislature convenes in January 2017. Without viable options for local governments to pay their share, a regional transit solution becomes much more difficult to achieve, and traffic congestion will continue to worsen.

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