LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Transit Authority of River City is just days away from reducing service for nearly two dozen routes.
Beginning June 30, 22 of TARC’s 30 fixed-route bus lines will have weekday service reductions. Routes will maintain their current hours and frequencies on Saturdays and Sundays, TARC said, and the reductions will only affect fixed-route service. Current TARC3 para-transit service will remain the same.
"It's a hard decision for TARC," said Alex Posorske, TARC director of marketing and communications. "It's a necessary decision that was also made to preserve as much service and provide the least disruption as possible."
With American Rescue Plan funding coming to an end, TARC will soon lose 20% of its operating budget, which the agency said factored into the decision to cut service. The TARC 2025 Network Redesign process, set to begin this summer, will gather community input to update the system and better meet needs within the amount of funding the agency can expect over the next five to 10 years.
"It means we're able to push out layoffs," Posorske said. "(The) potential for layoffs a little bit further means we're able to buy time to look for a long-term solution for funding for a sustainable TARC moving forward."
Reduced frequency is coming for 19 routes while three limited service routes funded by temporary grants will be discontinued, the agency said: Route #46 National Turnpike-Outer Loop, Route #73 West Louisville-River Ridge and Route #74 Chamberlain Lane-River Ridge.
Here are the affected routes:
- Route #2 UPS Second Street
- Route #6 Sixth Street
- Route #12 Twelfth Street
- Route #15 Market Street
- Route #17 Bardstown Road
- Route #18 Dixie Highway
- Route #19 Muhammad Ali Blvd
- Route #21 Chestnut Street
- Route #25 Oak-Westport Crosstown
- Route #27 Hill Street
- Route #29 Eastern Parkway
- Route #31 Shelbyville Road
- Route #40 Taylorsville Road
- Route #43 Portland Poplar Level
- Route #52 Medical Center Circulator
- Route #63 Crums Lane
- Route #71 Jefferson-Louisville-New Albany
- Route #72 Clarksville
- Route #94 Cardinal Shuttle
TARC said its four most critical routes, which carry almost 50% of daily ridership, will not be affected: Route #4 Fourth Street, Route #10 Dixie Rapid, Route #23 Broadway and Route #28 Preston Highway. The agency added additional routes will remain at the same level of service with more limited service during specific parts of the day or week: Route #22 Twenty Second Street, Route #75 Bluegrass Circulator, Route #93 UPS Shuttle-UofL-JCTC and Route #99 UPS Shuttle West Louisville.
TARC gave nearly 4.5 million unique passenger trips in Fiscal Year 2021.
More information on route reductions and pocket schedules for each route can be found on the TARC website or by calling TARC's Customer Care Line at 502-585-1234.
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