"They liked the old way of how we were doing it, and ultimately we kind of changed back to that," Russ Brashear, Murfreesboro's assistant transportation director, told the Murfreesboro Pulse this fall. He was describing the city's bus schedule at the Murfreesboro Transit Center on New Salem Highway. After riders pushed back on staggered times, the city went back to sending its buses in and out at the same time. "Everything comes and goes at the same time now, like it historically did, but it has seemed to make people happier."
That hub is now where Murfreesboro's Nashville commute starts. In October, WeGo Public Transit moved its Route 84 park-and-ride from the lot behind Stones River Mall to a new lot next to the Transit Center. The move ties the express bus to Interstate 24 into the city's own bus system. With the state's new I-24 lanes about a decade away, this is the commute change Murfreesboro gets for now.
How the Move Happened, Step by Step
The change came in stages over the summer and fall:
- July 5, 2026. Route 84 began stopping at the Murfreesboro Transit Center, where riders can transfer to and from Murfreesboro Transit routes. It stopped serving the old Rover Station at Burton and Walnut but kept its downtown stop on Lytle Street. It also kept stopping at Middle Tennessee State University and Stones River Mall.
- October 2, 2026. WeGo service to the Stones River Mall park-and-ride ended.
- October 5, 2026. The new main park-and-ride opened at 725 Bridge Avenue, next to the Transit Center. WeGo said the change also covered its Nashville SC game-day buses.
- October 16, 2026. WeGo, the City of Murfreesboro and the Tennessee Department of Transportation held an opening event for the permanent lot.
According to the city's announcement, the lot has 75 parking spaces, and the partners called it "a first of its kind regional connectivity hub in Middle Tennessee." TDOT put $1.3 million toward it through its IMPROVE Transit Investment Grant. Mayor Shane McFarland called the lot "a perfect example of collaboration and partnerships to provide enhanced mobility to jobs, medical appointments, shopping, and entertainment in both cities."
The Transit Center has been around a little longer than the lot. The city held its ribbon-cutting on Aug. 28, 2025, and opened it to the public on Sept. 8, 2025. It was built as a local and regional transfer point, with a 2,375-square-foot passenger pavilion, a 3,200-square-foot maintenance building, parking and administrative offices. The pavilion is listed at 324 New Salem Highway, and the WeGo lot uses its own address, 725 Bridge Avenue. Use the Bridge Avenue address in your phone's maps when you're driving in to park.
The Morning Schedule From Bay 12
Under WeGo's current Route 84 timetable, Nashville-bound buses leave from the MTSU campus parking lot first and then stop at Murfreesboro TC Bay 12 before heading to WeGo Central's 5th Avenue Bay 7 in downtown Nashville. There are 12 weekday trips and no service on Saturdays, Sundays or holidays.
| Leaves MTSU | Leaves Transit Center, Bay 12 | Arrives Central, 5th Ave Bay 7 | Scheduled time from Transit Center |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5:10 a.m. | 5:20 a.m. | 6:25 a.m. | 65 min |
| 5:30 a.m. | 5:40 a.m. | 7:00 a.m. | 80 min |
| 6:00 a.m. | 6:10 a.m. | 7:35 a.m. | 85 min |
| 7:26 a.m. | 7:45 a.m. | 9:00 a.m. | 75 min |
| 9:05 a.m. | 9:25 a.m. | 10:30 a.m. | 65 min |
| 10:30 a.m. | 10:50 a.m. | 11:55 a.m. | 65 min |
| 11:50 a.m. | 12:10 p.m. | 1:15 p.m. | 65 min |
| 1:25 p.m. | 1:50 p.m. | 3:00 p.m. | 70 min |
| 3:05 p.m. | 3:25 p.m. | 4:35 p.m. | 70 min |
| 5:15 p.m. | 5:35 p.m. | 6:40 p.m. | 65 min |
| 6:46 p.m. | 7:05 p.m. | 8:00 p.m. | 55 min |
| 8:25 p.m. | 8:45 p.m. | 9:40 p.m. | 55 min |
The right-hand column shows how rush hour affects the ride. The 5:20 a.m. bus is scheduled to reach downtown Nashville in 65 minutes. The 6:10 a.m. bus gets 85 minutes for the same trip. Leaving 50 minutes later puts you downtown 70 minutes later. For a rider with a fixed start time, the earliest bus usually costs the least extra time. Evening buses get just 55 minutes. WeGo CEO Steve Bland described the appeal in the opening announcement: "our operators can handle the headaches of rush hour on I-24 for you."
Return trips from Nashville are on the same WeGo page. Switch the direction selector to "From Nashville."
A single regional bus ride costs $4.25. A 20-ride pass costs $73.50, about $3.68 per ride, which brings a weekday round trip to about $7.35. WeGo also lists a $2 discounted regional fare for eligible riders on its fare information page.
Why the First Buses Still Depend on the Parking Lot
Putting the park-and-ride next to the Transit Center means a rider can take a city bus to the Nashville express. The timing is the catch. The Pulse reports that Murfreesboro Transit's eight routes generally run from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, with limited Saturday service on some routes. Two Route 84 buses, at 5:20 and 5:40 a.m., leave Bay 12 before city service generally starts. Those early riders will mostly be the ones parking in the 75 spaces on Bridge Avenue.
The city is slowly adding to the bus network that feeds the lot. On Feb. 2, 2026, Murfreesboro started a free pilot route along Cason Lane and St. Andrews Drive. It has 14 stops and runs a 20- to 25-minute loop on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Pulse reported that the pilot had only run within that corridor so far. Riders asked for a connection to the Transit Center, and the plan was for the route to start connecting there in November. Brashear also told the Pulse that seven new bus shelters should be installed around the city by the end of February. The Pitts Lane shelter, destroyed in a vehicle crash, will be replaced, and the long-term goal is 32 shelters. Evening service until 9 p.m. is a goal the city has not yet committed to.
Taken together, the hub's early value goes mostly to riders who drive to the lot. Its value to riders arriving on city buses depends on how far those city routes and hours grow.
What's Different at the Nashville End Right Now
Some stops in Nashville are also changing. WeGo's service alerts page lists three active Route 84 notices:
- Outbound from Nashville, since Oct. 24: Buses leave Central by Rep. John Lewis Way, turn left on James Robertson Parkway and then take Rosa L. Parks Boulevard. The usual southbound stops from Central Bay 7 through 8th Avenue South at Broadway are skipped.
- Inbound to Nashville, since Oct. 24: Buses follow Rosa L. Parks Boulevard from Church Street, using Rosa L. Parks Avenue, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, James Robertson Parkway and Rep. John Lewis Way to reach Central. The northbound stops from 8th Avenue South at Broadway through Central Bay 7 are skipped.
- Since July 20: The southbound stop at 6th Avenue and Deaderick Street is closed because of construction.
Both Oct. 24 detours are listed as lasting "until further notice." If you used to get off near Broadway, check the alerts page before your first trip from the new lot.
The Same Lot on Nashville SC Game Days
The Bridge Avenue lot also works on weekends. WeGo's Nashville SC express now picks up at 725 Bridge Avenue, stops at the Hickory Hollow Park & Ride by the Southeast Branch of the Nashville Public Library in Antioch, and drops riders on Wedgewood Avenue near GEODIS Park's Lot 11. Parking is free at both park-and-ride lots. The fare is $2 each way, and riders can pay with exact cash, a QuickTicket or a contactless card, according to Nashville SC's transit page.
During the 2026 regular season, the express ran on weekend home games only. Weeknight matches like the Wednesday games on Oct. 14 and Oct. 28 had no listed Murfreesboro departures. For weekend games, the bus left Murfreesboro 1 hour and 50 minutes before kickoff. For the Sunday, Nov. 1 regular-season finale, that meant a 1:40 p.m. departure for a 3:30 p.m. match, with the return bus leaving GEODIS 20 minutes after the final whistle.
There are more home games coming. Nashville SC won the Supporters' Shield for the first time, which guarantees home-field advantage through the Eastern Conference playoffs. Its first-round series opens at GEODIS Park on Sunday, Nov. 22, at 3 p.m., per the club's playoff announcement. A Game 3, if needed, would be on Wednesday, Dec. 2. WeGo posts express bus times on its Nashville SC page, so that's where to check for the Nov. 22 departure.
Why This Lot Matters for the Next Decade
A bus that sits in the same I-24 traffic as everyone else matters more because I-24 isn't getting faster soon. TDOT's I-24 Southeast Choice Lanes project will add two price-managed lanes in each direction between I-40 and I-840, and the existing lanes will stay free. TDOT reached commercial close with its private partner, DriveTN, on Sept. 30, 2026, and expects financial close in the third quarter of 2027. The TDOT announcement estimates construction at $9.2 billion and expects the lanes to open in 2035.
At the Bridge Avenue opening, TDOT Deputy Commissioner Preston Elliott linked the lot to that project. He said the Choice Lanes would give transit "a competitive, time‑saving advantage" and that the new hub "lays the groundwork for tomorrow's mobility needs." Until those lanes open, the Murfreesboro commute to Nashville runs on the 75 spaces at 725 Bridge Avenue, 12 weekday buses and $4.25 per ride.
For some Murfreesboro households, the commute to Nashville shapes how they think about where they live. If yours is one of them, The Phillips Group can help you see how distance to Bridge Avenue, the MTSU stop and I-24 plays out across the city's neighborhoods. Reach out and Start Your Home Search with a team that knows how the commute works.
