NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — When you book a ride to or from Nashville International Airport, you may notice several fees tacked on that make it one of the most expensive airports in the country for rideshare services.
As fall break plans come together, we wanted to shed light on what you're actually paying for when you book a rideshare.
We reached out to the Metro Finance Office for more information and found the city adds a $2 surcharge to every ride to or from BNA. That money is then transferred to the Music City Center and is being used to pay off debt and for other management costs at the convention center.
There's no current discussion on if the charge, which has been in place since 2007, will be changed any time soon.
Over the past three years, the city says the surcharge has generated more than $4 million for the Music City Center.
There's also a $5 surcharge that you may notice on your rideshare booking collected by the airport itself.
That means when you book a ride to the airport, you're paying an extra $7 for a one-way trip — one of the highest fees of any major airport in the U.S.
According to Frommer's, a travel guide site, Nashville's rideshare surcharges are higher than ones you'll see in Boston, New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. Those range from $5 to $10 roundtrip.
Drivers union calls fees 'outrageous'
For some people, driving for rideshare companies is their livelihood so these rules and fees could impact their budgets if folks choose other transportation options.
We reached out to the Tennessee Drivers Union, who called the surcharge fees "outrageous."
"We Uber and Lyft drivers in Tennessee make the state almost $31 billion in tourism money a year. But the airport has consistently made decisions that hurt and exploit us," Jeremiah Hill, Co-President TN DRIVERS UNION said.
"Uber and Lyft do not provide us with the anticipated number of passengers which sometimes causes cancellations of airport rides, when BNA has already charged the driver a fee for entering the property. BNA made $14.7 million off of fees charged by Uber and Lyft which are TAKEN AWAY from the wages made by Uber and Lyft drivers — quite literally taken out of our paycheck. We are glad the public is now paying attention to the workers being ripped off by BNA."
Alternative transportation options
This talk of surcharges on your rides to and from the airport may have you thinking: is there an easier, cheaper way to travel?
The Boring Company thinks so.
The CEO, Steve Davis, said a 9.5-mile tunnel, which is expected to run between BNA and downtown Nashville, will only take a few minutes and will cost a fraction of what you'd pay a rideshare or taxi driver.
He said it could also save you money if you were thinking of parking at the airport.
Earlier this week, we showed you where The Boring Company started digging in downtown Nashville — in the corner of a state-owned parking lot.
The city has not been asked to sign off on any digging yet, which is likely indicating this early excavation work doesn't interfere with water or electrical lines.
Actual tunneling, which will require special equipment, is expected later this year.
Airport sees increased passenger traffic
Nashville International Airport has been a busy place this summer for folks on vacation, attending music festivals and even visiting family.
We wanted to take a closer look at some data on passenger numbers — so you can have a better idea how many people are coming through the airport's doors.
BNA says June 2024 was a busy month for the airport, but June 2025 was even busier.
We did the math and found BNA saw a 2.9% increase in the number of people traveling this year compared to last.
If we look back even further, the jump is even more significant.
Comparing June 2023 to June 2025, there was a 17% increase in travelers.
This story was reported on-air by Amanda Roberts and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Have you experienced high rideshare fees at Nashville International Airport? We want to hear from you. Share your experiences or thoughts on this story by emailing me at Amanda.Roberts@NewsChannel5.com
