Why Nashville Needs LOOP: A Smarter Future for Transit

By the LOOP Nashville Editorial Staff

Nashville is growing faster than our roads can handle. Traffic congestion already costs us time, money, and quality of life — and as our city continues to expand, the problem will only get worse. Everyone agrees we need transit. But the real debate isn’t if Nashville should invest, it’s what kind of system will actually work for a city like ours.

Traditional answers — subways, heavy rail, light rail — belong to the 20th century. LOOP, the high-speed, privately financed express-tunnel system, belongs to the 21st.

The Problem With Old Transit

Let’s start with what riders actually care about: how long it takes to get from point A to point B.

Traditional transit systems — whether subway, heavy rail, or light rail — are hampered by the same fatal flaw: they stop constantly. Every few blocks, the train slams on the brakes, idles at the platform, and then slowly accelerates back to speed. Even if a train can technically hit 55 mph in a tunnel, the average trip speed tells the truth.

Across the United States, the median average speeds are sobering:

• Heavy rail (subways): 18.8 mph

• Light rail: 15.6 mph

• Bus: 13.2 mph

• Streetcar: 5.8 mph

That’s not mobility for the future. That’s mobility stuck in the past.

To make matters worse, riders wait an average of 5–10 minutes for each train, often longer if they need to transfer. These delays compound. A so-called “fast” subway can quickly feel as sluggish as sitting in traffic on I-24.

Nashville doesn’t need to repeat the mistakes of New York or Los Angeles.

The LOOP Alternative

LOOP flips the model on its head. Instead of cramming into a single large vehicle that stops every few blocks, LOOP uses small, on-demand vehicles running express through underground tunnels. You board in seconds, and you travel directly to your destination — no intermediate stops, no forced transfers.

The result? The Vegas LOOP’s published plan shows average trip speeds of 57 mph. Not top speed. Average. That’s three to four times faster than traditional transit and, more importantly, faster than driving in Nashville traffic.

If we want Nashvillians to actually use transit, we have to build a system that outperforms the car. LOOP is that system.

Funded by Private Dollars, Built for the Public

Here’s the most remarkable part: LOOP is not a taxpayer gamble.

Traditional rail systems require massive public subsidies — billions up front, plus annual operating costs forever. By contrast, LOOP in Nashville would be financed entirely with private dollars. The only people who pay for it are the people who choose to use it.

This is a market-driven solution, not unlike the way the railroads in this country were originally built. The government retains ownership of the tunnels, leasing the land to The Boring Company for operations. Tennessee taxpayers reap the rewards of a modern, high-speed transit system without footing the bill.

That dramatically changes the equation. Instead of gambling taxpayer money on a system that may underperform, Nashville gets innovation and speed funded by private risk-takers.

Solving the Last-Mile Problem

Transit is only as good as the walk between the station and your final destination. Traditional rail systems dump passengers at fixed, widely spaced stations. Downtown Nashville has sidewalks to make that manageable. But in the periphery — where many people live and work — sidewalks are incomplete or nonexistent.

That’s where LOOP has another advantage. Stations can be smaller, cheaper, and more numerous, delivering riders closer to their intended destination. And because LOOP is privately funded, taxpayer transportation dollars can instead be invested in sidewalks, crosswalks, and pedestrian improvements — making every trip, whether by LOOP or on foot, safer and more connected.

A Better Rider Experience

Anyone who has ridden a crowded bus or train knows the discomfort of being packed shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers. For many Nashvillians, that’s exactly why they don’t ride the buses we already have. The experience is inconvenient, uncomfortable, and often feels unsafe.

LOOP changes that. Vehicles carry only a handful of passengers at a time, often people you know. It feels more like a private carpool than a subway car. That difference in comfort and safety will make LOOP far more appealing for everyday use.

Transit only works if people choose to ride it. A system that is fast, comfortable, and secure is the only one that will actually shift behavior in a car-dependent city like Nashville.

Learning From Nashville’s Transit History

Nashville is no stranger to transit experiments. A century ago, our city had one of the most extensive streetcar systems in the country. And yet, it was abandoned — because it could not compete with the speed and convenience of the car.

Why would we return to a system of the past that already failed this city once? LOOP is fundamentally different: it is the first transit mode that can actually beat the car on speed, convenience, and comfort.

The Choice Ahead

Here’s the decision Nashville faces:

• Option A: Spend billions in taxpayer dollars on rail that crawls at 15 mph, stops every few blocks, and leaves riders stranded far from their final destination.

• Option B: Let private investment build LOOP — delivering fast, direct, on-demand trips averaging 57 mph, while taxpayer money can be directed to sidewalks, bikeways, and pedestrian infrastructure.

The contrast could not be sharper. Old transit models ask Nashville taxpayers to spend billions for a system slower than driving. LOOP offers a system faster than driving, at no cost to taxpayers.

Nashville is a city on the rise. Let’s not chain our future to the failed systems of the past. LOOP is faster, smarter, safer, and built for the way our city actually moves. It is the only system that can keep pace with Nashville’s growth.