Thursday, July 1, 2010
The downtown trolleys
NEW TROLLEY SERVICE AND COST:
Route:
Starts at Civic Center MetroLink Station
Travels on 14th Street, Spruce Street, Market Street, 4th Street, Broadway, and Washington Avenue to the City Museum before returning on 14th Street to the Civic Center
Passengers can hop on and off at any stop
All-day pass:
Unlimited daily riding
$2 for adults
$1 for children
Trolleys also accept Metro passes and transfers
*Tickets can be purchased on the trolleys or at the MetroRide Center in America’s Center at 7th Street and Washington Avenue.
Hours of Operation:
5:30 a.m. to Midnight Monday through Friday
7 a.m. to Midnight on Saturday
Service will reach each stop every 10 to 20 minutes
More information on fares and schedules:
Getting around downtown St. Louis is expected to be made more unique and easy with the introduction of new trolleys, a MetroBus service.
Service developers made the announcement Thursday saying residents, workers and tourists will be able to jump on and travel to all of the attractions, restaurants, hotels, stores, stadiums and office buildings in the downtown area.
The first trolleys took to the streets on Thursday, July 1.
“We are pleased to introduce this new trolley service, which will not only benefit downtown residents and workers, but also the millions of visitors St. Louis welcomes annually,” said Kitty Ratcliffe, president of the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission (CVC). “Just in time for the Fourth of July holiday weekend, this new service will enable tourists to experience more of the world-class attractions, sports venues, culture, retail and dining that St. Louis offers.”
The trolley service is the result of a collaborative effort between Metro Transit, the Downtown St. Louis Community Improvement District and the CVC.
“We’re pleased to partner with Metro and the CVC to provide a way for Downtown dwellers to easily connect to the many attractions, restaurants and retail establishments we offer,” said Maggie Campbell, president & CEO of The Partnership for Downtown St. Louis. “It is our hope that the Downtown Trolley would reach pivotal success and someday expand to add more stops throughout Downtown to its route.”
Operated by Metro, the route is an expanded and updated version of its former MetroBus #99 Downtown Circulator, which currently accesses locations such as the City Museum.
“The #99 Downtown Trolley features a whimsical and colorful wrap that transforms buses into trolleys,” said Dianne Williams, director of communications at Metro.
The route loops through downtown from the Civic Center MetroLink Station, traveling on 14th Street, Spruce Street, Market Street, 4th Street, Broadway, and Washington Avenue to the City Museum before returning on 14th Street to the Civic Center.
“This route adjusts Metro’s service to better meet the needs of our customers in the downtown area and is being launched during the summer tourism season – exactly when it’s needed the most,” said Williams. “We expect to see more ridership on this route, not only because of its value to tourists and downtown residents and workers, but also because of its added service to people commuting from around the region into downtown.”
With the purchase of an all-day pass, customers can get on and off the shuttle all day long at any of the stops for the discounted fare of $2 for adults and $1 for children. The trolleys also accept Metro passes and transfers. Tickets can be purchased on the trolleys or at the MetroRide Center in America’s Center at 7th Street and Washington Avenue.
The downtown trolleys, a MetroBus service, will connect attractions, restaurants, retail stores, hotels, stadiums and commercial office buildings
The new downtown trolley service will operate from 5:30 a.m. to midnight Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to midnight on Saturday. Service will reach each stop every 10 to 20 minutes.
More information on the Downtown Trolley, fares and schedules are available at www.metrostlouis.org.
Comments
xmasbby (anonymous) says...
You what?! Painted a bus and are calling it a "trolley"? It's still creating pollution and guzzling gas, regardless of what "whimsical" color it is. How about ELECTRIC blue? That's a color. This city is officially the armpit of America.
July 1, 2010 at 2:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
teaparty_conservative (anonymous) says...
yeah a painted bus doesn't make a trolly......that is silly, and stupid.
July 1, 2010 at 3:53 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
lifeindfastlane (anonymous) says...
“The #99 Downtown Trolley features a whimsical and colorful wrap that transforms buses into trolleys.” This has to be the most laughable statement I've heard all week. If you painted it to look like an airplane, could it fly? Or make it look like a boat and it would float?
It's a basic principle of good design that things should look like what they are, not pretend to be something they are not. This transit route is great, but they'd be far better off with a colorful bus/shuttle than a pretend fake trolley. This ridiculous design is an embarrassment to our city.
July 1, 2010 at 5:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
zorro (anonymous) says...
If your think this is silly and a waste of money, wait, the poo bahs in the Delmar loop are planning a rail trolley for millions of dollars of tax payer money to go from the loop to the history museum. Maybe the old tracks for the old street cars are still there.
July 2, 2010 at 3:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )