TARC Trolleys To Remain Free Through End Of Year

The Transit Authority of River City's trolley service in downtown Louisville will continue to be free for the rest of the year.The fifty cent fare on trolleys on 4th, Main and Market streetswas dropped for the summer. TARC paid for the rides with business sponsorships. Director Barry Barker says so many people rode the trolleys this summer, he sought more sponsorships."We're approximately twice what we saw the year before," he says. "So, in effect, what we took a look at was it didn’t make a lot of sense to make the changes for the summer, then go back to the old way for the fall."Barker says the trolleys will be free at least until the end of the year, and possibly into 2011. When the fares were dropped, TARC also increased the frequency of trolley pickups. That will also continue.While the sponsorships work to pay for trolley service, Barker says it's unlikely a similar model could be applied to regular TARC service any time soon.