LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Transit Authority of River City (TARC) has passed its fiscal year 2025 budget, which calls for service reductions effective Jan. 5, 2025. 

TARC said the service reductions will affect fixed route service; however, TARC3 paratransit service will be not be affected. The agency projects its looming fiscal cliff will be pushed off for another two years by reducing service, it added.

“This is not a step that the board takes lightly, but it is necessary,” said TARC Board Chairman Ted Smith. “TARC, like many transit agencies across our country, faces significant financial challenges. By taking this step now, we can buy the necessary time to find the resources we need to support robust bus service for the tens of thousands of us who rely on public transit in Louisville.”

TARC said the reductions are part of its strategy to address an operational budget gap projected to be as much as $30 million by July 2026 without cuts or additional revenue.

Along with the reductions, it includes a redesign process, "TARC 2025," which calls for a full plan for an updated TARC network within available funding by Feb. 2025 and efforts to identify new revenue sources to support service.

Factors that have led to the fiscal cliff include minimal state support compared to peer agencies, a local funding mechanism (the Jefferson County occupational tax) that hasn't changed its rate in 50 years, a challenging financial climate for transit agencies nationwide and the expiration of pandemic-era federal emergency funding support, the agency said. 

The reductions, "Saturday Plus," will see weekday schedules on several TARC bus routes shift to Saturday-level service. This means fewer scheduled buses every hour and less frequent service Monday through Friday, TARC said. No routes will be eliminated.

“’Saturday Plus’ is the least intrusive way for TARC to preserve essential service while still taking important action to address the looming fiscal cliff,” said TARC Interim Executive Director Ozzy Gibson.

The changes will not affect TARC's busiest routes which make up its "core frequency" network:  #4 4^th Street, #10 Dixie Rapid, #23 Broadway and #28 Preston Highway. TARC said almost half of its daily boardings are on one of the four lines. Those routes will maintain their normal weekday frequency levels of every 15 minutes.

The Louisville Metro Government will now receive the budget as part of its annual budget process, TARC said.