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The school year will be drawing to a close soon and local students will find themselves with much more time on their hands. There are many great destinations for summer activities in the Louisville area and TARC is helping Louisville youth reach those destinations with their summer youth bus passes.
Summer youth passes are available online now. These $30 passes allow unlimited rides through August 31 by passengers age 6 through 19 on all TARC routes, including great destinations such as all of our beautiful parks, shopping malls, and attractions such as the downtown museums, the Louisville Zoo and this summer’s newest attraction Kentucky Kingdom. This will also give area youth easy access to summer programs, sports activities and summer job opportunities.
Visit the Transit Authority of River City website for a full system map to see where you can go this summer.
With the upcoming Kentucky Kingdom and Hurricane Bay opening, there will be no shortage of opportunity in Louisville for thrill rides and water park fun. Now, with a planned TARC service adjustments, it will be even easier for park patrons and employees to get to and from the parks while allowing visitors to avoid parking fees. This service change takes effect on Sunday, June 8, 2014, alongside a second minor schedule adjustment.
The #2-Second Street TARC route is being adjusted as follows:
The changes have been put into place to give a service option for employees and patrons of Kentucky Kingdom, which opens later this month. TARC riders should catch their bus at stops near Gate 2 and Gate 3 at the Kentucky Fairgrounds.
On Monday, June 9, a trip leaving Louisville International Airport will start at 8:54 a.m., which is 10 minutes later than the previous trip. That southbound trip from downtown will also leave 10 minutes later, at 9:25 a.m., from 5th and Market Street. Additionally, a new weekday trip leaving the airport at 7:12 p.m. will be added.
On Saturdays, new trips leaving 5th and Market at 10:15 a.m. and the airport at 9:12 p.m. will be added. On Sundays and holidays, new trips will be leaving 5th and Market at 10:15 a.m. and the airport at 7:12 p.m.
An unrelated schedule change is also being made to the #43-Poplar Level Road route:
Time adjustments of a few minutes at stops south of Poplar Level Road and Eastern Parkway and Poplar Level Road at Indian Trail will be enacted. Arrival and departure times at stops south of Eastern Parkway will be adjusted by 2-3 minutes on all trips. Stop times at Poplar Level Road and Eastern Parkway and north of that intersection will remain the same.
Many people were upset throughout the county when the Transit Authority of River City (TARC) announced that they would be raising the bus fare by 25 cents to help reduce a large projected budget deficit. With TARC bleeding money when riders cheat the system by selling transfers, using transfers well after it is expired, and using fake bus passes, it is easy to see how they can have a funding shortfall. TARC announced late last year that new fare collection system on the buses would be coming soon and the new systems are set to be in place sometime late this year, according to their website.
The new system will implement a smart card that can be loaded with funds to cover the rider’s fare. The smart card will allow passengers to tap their card on the reader to deduct the fare from their available funds. The card will also store transfer information on the card, eliminating the need for paper transfers and helping TARC “go green” while reducing printing costs. The transfer status will be activated upon fare payment and will be good for two hours. Once the transfer time has expired, the next tap will automatically deduct the fare price again.
One of the big advantages to the smart card will be that the fares (currently $1.75, $2.75 for express routes) will go back down to $1.50 per ride or $2.50 for express rides. Riders will still be able to buy monthly passes, which will be loaded directly on the card. Riders will also have the option to buy 24 hour passes for $3.50 (day passes were previously only available at two locations), and 7 day passes for $15. For a complete list of fare prices, visit the TARC website. If a rider qualifies for reduced fares, they will still receive the reduced fares, but the smart card will need to be picked up directly from TARC Headquarters so that eligibility can be verified. If you are currently a University of Louisville student or work for a company with a TARC rider agreement using with your photo ID, you will still be able to ride for free, but the logistics for that are still being worked out.
Since the TARC Smart Card can be used as cash for paying fares, the system also offers some protection for the card holder. Each card can be registered to a user and, in the event that a card is a lost, the rider will be able to call TARC and have the card canceled. The remaining funds on the card will then be transferred to a new card registered to the rider. Note that each rider will need their own card. A single card, even it’s loaded with $100, will not be able to purchase more than one fare at a time.
Many people rely on the Transit Authority of River City (TARC) for their daily commute and getting around Louisville. Riding TARC saves commuters money, stress and wear-and-tear on their personal vehicles as well as helping the environment. Current regular adult fares are $1.75 and include a two-hour transfer. With recent high gas prices, it is easy to see why many people take advantage of Louisville’s public transit system (check out the gas savings calculator). Unfortunately, one of the biggest drawbacks about the transit system is the schedule. TARC schedules are available online and posted at many stops around town. Buses, however, do not always show up at their scheduled time.
There are many reasons a bus is late throughout the day: heavy traffic, accidents, breaks downs, etc. Waiting for a late bus when you are on a schedule can be quite frustrating when you have no idea when, or if, it will show up. In the past, finding out where a late bus was meant calling the TARC phone number, which is posted on all bus stop signs, waiting for someone to answer and asking about your bus. I personally have waited up to 45 minutes for a bus that was running late (on a route that is supposed to run every 15 minutes!) and have been on hold with customer service for upwards of 15 minutes trying to find a “missing” bus.
The good news? TARC has being catching up with technology. TARC announced in January that real-time bus information will be available through Google Maps and their own Trip Planner. The press release says that it is viewed best on a desktop computer and that they are challenging local mobile app developers to design a program that is phone friendly. When a user loads their current location and destination into Google Maps, there is, in small print underneath the directions, that says “Live Transit Time”.
Even more helpful for commuters on the go is the mobile integration. If you have a smartphone with Google Now, which is available on Android and iOS systems, you can get schedule information sent directly to your phone. Google Now has a setting to receive nearby bus stop information. It uses your phone’s GPS function to locate you, then it brings up the information for the nearest bus stop. This information includes all of the buses scheduled to stop there in the next 30 minutes as well as how far behind schedule they may be.
Now riders can spend less time standing around the bus stop and more time doing what they need to do.