Increased Demand Leads to Expanded TARC Service in South Louisville

The Transit Authority of River City is extending the Fourth Street route farther south into the Glengarry neighborhood and adding a morning express trip from Jeffersontown to downtown Louisville.TARC officials say the changes are a response to increased ridership and demand from customers in south Louisville. The extra service will cost the agency about $750 a week. TARC director Barry Barker is certain ridership will increase, but he says the increase in revenue from those fares is minor. "Does it pay 100 percent of the cost? No. But we've got an additional bus out there, it's well-utilized, it's virtually full every morning."Barker says fares account for about 15% of TARC's budget. He says if TARC is to truly grow, outside funding will have to be increased. "Our sources of funds are federal, state and local. So that's where we're trying. The mass transit trust fund—which is the occupational license fee—had some growth in it this past year. State funding has stayed flat. And what they're talking about in Washington is reducing the funding."Earlier this year, TARC used a $1 million federal grant to add buses to the Dixie and Preston Highway and the Broadway and Bardstown Road routes. Last year, several routes were cut due to lagging revenues from the city.