Transit Authority of River City
Encyclopedia
The Transit Authority of River City (TARC) is the major public transport
ation provider for the Louisville, Kentucky, United States
metro area, which includes parts of Southern Indiana
. This includes the Kentucky
suburbs of Oldham County
, Bullitt County
, Clark County
, and Floyd County
in southern Indiana
. TARC is publicly funded and absorbed various earlier private mass transit companies in Louisville, the largest of which was the Louisville Transit Company.
TARC operates a fleet of 240 accessible
buses, including 29 hybrid buses, which provide daily service 365 days a year. It also operates many specialized routes providing transportation to major local employers, educational institutions and recreational events. It began bus operations in 1974. TARC has explored other forms of public transit, including light rail
, but as of 2009 provides only bus service.
In August 2011, TARC's new $4.5 million, 17,700 square-foot, Maintenance and Training building receives Gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification.
s to diesel buses in the late 1940s, and changing its name from the Louisville Railway Company in 1947.
Following a trend seen in cities across America, the company had seen annual ridership decline from 84 million in 1920 to 14 million in 1970. The ridership was no longer enough for to cover operating expenses and in 1971 it posted its first ever loss. In 1972 the company announced it would cease operations on September 1, 1974.
The local government began subsidizing fares in July 1973, but this was not enough to make Louisville Transit Company profitable. At about the same time, Bridge Transit Co., which provided mass transit between Louisville and Jeffersonville
, ceased operations due to lack of revenue, clearly setting the stage for a metropolitan area without any private mass transit companies.
In 1974, voters approved a controversial referendum allowing for an increased occupational tax
to fund mass transit, which was pushed for by then-mayor Harvey Sloane. Combined with a federal grant, this was enough for TARC to purchase the Louisville Transit Company, buy new buses, reduce fares, and extend new service lines. TARC bought up the remaining mass transit companies in the area; Blue Motor Coach Lines, which served outlying areas, in 1976 and the Daisy Line, connecting New Albany and Louisville, in 1983.
In 1993, TARC experimented with a "water taxi" service connecting the Belle of Louisville
wharf and Towboat Annie's Restaurant in Jeffersonville. During the 1990s and early 2000s, TARC advocated extensive funding to build and operate light rail
system in the Louisville area, but despite wide press coverage, the plans never went past planning stages.
In February 1994, an audit committee headed by future political candidate Bruce Lunsford
revealed TARC had been mismanaging funds and was on pace to deplete its once-large trust fund due to skyrocketting expenses such as door-to-door services for the disabled as well as rates of spending on personal services and fringe benefits for administrators that was much higher than in transit companies for similar sized cities. In the fallout of the audit, TARC's executive director resigned and fares were nearly doubled before year's end.
TARC purchased Louisville's Union Station
for $2 million in 1977, the year after the former train station had ceased rail operations. The trainyard was replaced with a large maintenance facility for TARC buses and the former train station is now TARC's administrative headquarters. In 2003, TARC did a major remodeling of Union Station for the first time since it purchased the facility. The renovation cost $2.1 million.
TARC is administered by an eight-member board. TARC had a budget of $67.8 million for the 2008–09 fiscal year. Fares only cover about 12% of TARC's operating expenses; the rest is paid for by Jefferson County's occupational tax, federal aid and some other minor sources.
The occupational tax is 0.20%, it makes up about two-thirds of TARC's operating expenses in any given year. The actual total varies due to availability of federal grants and fares collected. In 2002, TARC had 710 employees, 460 of whom were bus drivers.
Some funding comes from a transportation trust fund kept by TARC. In 1992, the fund contained $28 million, which a local alderman claimed made TARC the "Cadillac
" of America's bus systems, and unsuccessfully proposed raiding it to fund the Louisville Free Public Library
. The fund declined from $34 million in 1989 to $13 million in 1994, prompting severe cutbacks and rate hikes that year.
highway bill earmarks by Federal Senator Jim Bunning
(Republican
). In 2007, a new TARC bus cost $285,000, while a hybrid bus cost $504,000.
In October 2010, TARC announced that the hybrid bus fleet would grow to 29, with the addition of 8 new buses, with a grant of $3.9 million, from the Federal Transit Authority’s Clean Fuels Bus and Bus Facilities Program. A previous grant through the federal stimulus program paid for nine hybrid buses that arrived in July 2010.
All buses are equipped with "kneeling" bus technology that makes them easier to board, and a wheelchair lift. TARC once required disabled riders to use a special service with smaller buses that had to be scheduled in advance, but all regular buses were made accessible following protests in 1986.
TARC operates a series of city buses that serve throughout the Louisville area. TARC claims over 7,000 bus stops, although only about 200 of them have benches and rain shelters—the rest simply have a sign indicating the location is a bus stop. The stops are served by 20 weekday and weekend routes, 16 express routes with weekday service only, and 51 total routes. The daily routes are named for the primary road they serve. On the daily routes, there is no more than hour between scheduled buses at any stop, and on weekdays on the busiest routes have even less time between stops. Most of the daily routes have existed under the same name and number for decades, although their routes have almost all been extended to provide access to suburban locations.
TARC operates various circulators providing access to hospitals, Downtown Louisville
and art galleries. Since 1999, TARC has operated a shuttle service for the University of Louisville
's main campus. It operates two routes shuttling workers to Worldport
, the hub of United Parcel Service
and one of Louisville's largest employers. In 2007, TARC launched a program called "Ride to Safety" which allows domestic abuse victims to board TARC busses to be given transportation to a shelter.
They also operate a system of diesel-powered rubber-tired buses designed in the style of early 20th century streetcars that act as circulators in the downtown hotel and shopping districts and on certain days are used to provide special shuttle services in other shopping and entertainment areas. The tourist trolley
s began operation in November 1987 and their role and fare has varied over the years as funding has allowed.
TARC and its predecessor provided shuttle access to the Kentucky Derby
and Kentucky Oaks
since the 1950s, but in 2008 new federal rules required the racetrack, Churchill Downs
, to negotiate with private companies to provide service. The shuttle operation transported tens of thousands of people each year and provided TARC with over $200,000 of annual revenue. TARC provides service to some other local events, including Thunder over Louisville
and the Kentucky State Fair
.
Through a program called "Bikes on Board", TARC has bike rack
s installed on the front of all its full-size buses, each with the capacity to hold two bicycles. The program began in 2001, and by 2004 all buses were equipped. In 2005, TARC reported an average of 6,000 riders a month used the bike racks.
may ride standard TARC routes for free, discounts are offered to senior citizens and high school students.
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
ation provider for the Louisville, Kentucky, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
metro area, which includes parts of Southern Indiana
Southern Indiana
Southern Indiana, in the United States, consists of the 33 counties located in the southernmost part of the state. The region's history and geography has led to a blend of Northern and Southern culture distinct from the remainder of Indiana. It is often considered to be part of the Upland South...
. This includes the Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
suburbs of Oldham County
Oldham County, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 46,178 people, 14,856 households, and 12,196 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 15,541 housing units at an average density of...
, Bullitt County
Bullitt County, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 61,236 people, 22,171 households, and 17,736 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 23,160 housing units at an average density of...
, Clark County
Clark County, Indiana
Clark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana, located directly across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky. At the 2010 Census, the population was 110,232. The county seat is Jeffersonville. Clarksville is also a major city in the county...
, and Floyd County
Floyd County, Indiana
Floyd County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 74,578. The county seat is New Albany. Floyd County is the county with the second smallest land area in the entire state...
in southern Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
. TARC is publicly funded and absorbed various earlier private mass transit companies in Louisville, the largest of which was the Louisville Transit Company.
TARC operates a fleet of 240 accessible
Accessibility
Accessibility is a general term used to describe the degree to which a product, device, service, or environment is available to as many people as possible. Accessibility can be viewed as the "ability to access" and benefit from some system or entity...
buses, including 29 hybrid buses, which provide daily service 365 days a year. It also operates many specialized routes providing transportation to major local employers, educational institutions and recreational events. It began bus operations in 1974. TARC has explored other forms of public transit, including light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
, but as of 2009 provides only bus service.
In August 2011, TARC's new $4.5 million, 17,700 square-foot, Maintenance and Training building receives Gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification.
History
The transit authority was created in 1971 after 1970 legislation authorized city and county governments to operate mass-transit systems using local funding. At the time, public transit was still being provided in Louisville by the private Louisville Transit Company. The Louisville Transit Company had long operated mass transit lines in Louisville, converted from electric trolleyTram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
s to diesel buses in the late 1940s, and changing its name from the Louisville Railway Company in 1947.
| Ridership by year. Includes TARC's predecessor, Louisville Transit Company, in years prior to 1974. |
|---|
1920 – 84 million 1970 – 14 million 1980 – 20 million 1997 – 15 million 2006 – 15.8 million |
Following a trend seen in cities across America, the company had seen annual ridership decline from 84 million in 1920 to 14 million in 1970. The ridership was no longer enough for to cover operating expenses and in 1971 it posted its first ever loss. In 1972 the company announced it would cease operations on September 1, 1974.
The local government began subsidizing fares in July 1973, but this was not enough to make Louisville Transit Company profitable. At about the same time, Bridge Transit Co., which provided mass transit between Louisville and Jeffersonville
Jeffersonville, Kentucky
There were 682 households out of which 38.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.6% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.9% were non-families. 19.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.8% had someone...
, ceased operations due to lack of revenue, clearly setting the stage for a metropolitan area without any private mass transit companies.
In 1974, voters approved a controversial referendum allowing for an increased occupational tax
Occupational privilege tax
Various state and local taxing authorities in the US require an employer or the employee to withhold and remit a tax on the wages paid to an employee. Some states require both the employer and employee to remit a portion of the total occupational privilege tax...
to fund mass transit, which was pushed for by then-mayor Harvey Sloane. Combined with a federal grant, this was enough for TARC to purchase the Louisville Transit Company, buy new buses, reduce fares, and extend new service lines. TARC bought up the remaining mass transit companies in the area; Blue Motor Coach Lines, which served outlying areas, in 1976 and the Daisy Line, connecting New Albany and Louisville, in 1983.
In 1993, TARC experimented with a "water taxi" service connecting the Belle of Louisville
Belle of Louisville
The Belle of Louisville is a steamboat owned and operated by the city of Louisville, Kentucky and moored at its downtown wharf next to the Riverfront Plaza/Belvedere during its annual operational period...
wharf and Towboat Annie's Restaurant in Jeffersonville. During the 1990s and early 2000s, TARC advocated extensive funding to build and operate light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
system in the Louisville area, but despite wide press coverage, the plans never went past planning stages.
In February 1994, an audit committee headed by future political candidate Bruce Lunsford
Bruce Lunsford
William Bruce Lunsford is an American Democratic politician from Kentucky. He has served various roles in the Kentucky Democratic Party including, Party treasurer, Deputy Development Secretary, and Head of Commerce...
revealed TARC had been mismanaging funds and was on pace to deplete its once-large trust fund due to skyrocketting expenses such as door-to-door services for the disabled as well as rates of spending on personal services and fringe benefits for administrators that was much higher than in transit companies for similar sized cities. In the fallout of the audit, TARC's executive director resigned and fares were nearly doubled before year's end.
Administration
Union Station (Louisville)
The Union Station of Louisville, Kentucky is a historic railroad station that serves as offices for the Transit Authority of River City, as it has since mid-April 1980 after receiving a year-long restoration costing approximately $2 million. It was one of three union stations in Kentucky, the other...
for $2 million in 1977, the year after the former train station had ceased rail operations. The trainyard was replaced with a large maintenance facility for TARC buses and the former train station is now TARC's administrative headquarters. In 2003, TARC did a major remodeling of Union Station for the first time since it purchased the facility. The renovation cost $2.1 million.
TARC is administered by an eight-member board. TARC had a budget of $67.8 million for the 2008–09 fiscal year. Fares only cover about 12% of TARC's operating expenses; the rest is paid for by Jefferson County's occupational tax, federal aid and some other minor sources.
The occupational tax is 0.20%, it makes up about two-thirds of TARC's operating expenses in any given year. The actual total varies due to availability of federal grants and fares collected. In 2002, TARC had 710 employees, 460 of whom were bus drivers.
Some funding comes from a transportation trust fund kept by TARC. In 1992, the fund contained $28 million, which a local alderman claimed made TARC the "Cadillac
Cadillac
Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...
" of America's bus systems, and unsuccessfully proposed raiding it to fund the Louisville Free Public Library
Louisville Free Public Library
The Louisville Free Public Library is the largest public library system in Kentucky. Officially opened in 1908, the library's main site resides south of Broadway in downtown Louisville. Additional branches were added over time, including the Western Colored Branch, which was the first...
. The fund declined from $34 million in 1989 to $13 million in 1994, prompting severe cutbacks and rate hikes that year.
Fleet
As of 2007, TARC had a fleet of 240 buses. Nine were hybrid buses, which combine a traditional diesel engine and an electric motor to reduce emissions and eliminate tailpipe exhaust during acceleration, but cost nearly twice as much as a conventional bus. The hybrids were provided through FederalFederal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
highway bill earmarks by Federal Senator Jim Bunning
Jim Bunning
James Paul David "Jim" Bunning is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher and politician.During a 17-year baseball career, he pitched from 1955 to 1971, most notably with the Detroit Tigers and the Philadelphia Phillies. When he retired, he had the second-highest total of career...
(Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
). In 2007, a new TARC bus cost $285,000, while a hybrid bus cost $504,000.
In October 2010, TARC announced that the hybrid bus fleet would grow to 29, with the addition of 8 new buses, with a grant of $3.9 million, from the Federal Transit Authority’s Clean Fuels Bus and Bus Facilities Program. A previous grant through the federal stimulus program paid for nine hybrid buses that arrived in July 2010.
All buses are equipped with "kneeling" bus technology that makes them easier to board, and a wheelchair lift. TARC once required disabled riders to use a special service with smaller buses that had to be scheduled in advance, but all regular buses were made accessible following protests in 1986.
Services
TARC operates various circulators providing access to hospitals, Downtown Louisville
Downtown Louisville
Downtown Louisville is the largest central business district in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the urban hub of the Louisville, Kentucky Metropolitan Area. Its boundaries are the Ohio River to the north, Hancock Street to the east, York and Jacob Streets to the south, and 9th Street to the west...
and art galleries. Since 1999, TARC has operated a shuttle service for the University of Louisville
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
's main campus. It operates two routes shuttling workers to Worldport
Worldport (UPS air hub)
Worldport is the worldwide air hub for UPS located at the Louisville International Airport in Louisville, Kentucky. Although UPS has had a hub at Louisville since 1980, the term was not used officially by the company until 2002, after a $1 billion, five-year expansion...
, the hub of United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service, Inc. , typically referred to by the acronym UPS, is a package delivery company. Headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States, UPS delivers more than 15 million packages a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 220 countries and territories around the...
and one of Louisville's largest employers. In 2007, TARC launched a program called "Ride to Safety" which allows domestic abuse victims to board TARC busses to be given transportation to a shelter.
They also operate a system of diesel-powered rubber-tired buses designed in the style of early 20th century streetcars that act as circulators in the downtown hotel and shopping districts and on certain days are used to provide special shuttle services in other shopping and entertainment areas. The tourist trolley
Tourist trolley
A tourist trolley, also called a road trolley, is a rubber-tired bus , which is made to resemble an old-style streetcar or tram....
s began operation in November 1987 and their role and fare has varied over the years as funding has allowed.
TARC and its predecessor provided shuttle access to the Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
and Kentucky Oaks
Kentucky Oaks
The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers 1⅛ miles at Churchill Downs; the horses carry 121 pounds . The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Friday before the Kentucky Derby each year...
since the 1950s, but in 2008 new federal rules required the racetrack, Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs, located in Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs...
, to negotiate with private companies to provide service. The shuttle operation transported tens of thousands of people each year and provided TARC with over $200,000 of annual revenue. TARC provides service to some other local events, including Thunder over Louisville
Thunder Over Louisville
Thunder Over Louisville, the annual kickoff event of the Kentucky Derby Festival, is an airshow and fireworks display held in mid April in Louisville, Kentucky...
and the Kentucky State Fair
Kentucky State Fair
The Kentucky State Fair is the official state fair of Kentucky which takes place at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville. More than 600,000 fairgoers fill the of indoor and outdoor exhibits, eat a smorgasbord of food and ride hair-raising, adrenaline-pumping coasters during the 11-day event...
.
Through a program called "Bikes on Board", TARC has bike rack
Bicycle carrier
A bicycle carrier, also commonly called a bike rack, is a device attached to an automobile or bus for transporting bicycles.- By vehicle type :Bus mounted bike carriers are usually attached to the front of the bus...
s installed on the front of all its full-size buses, each with the capacity to hold two bicycles. The program began in 2001, and by 2004 all buses were equipped. In 2005, TARC reported an average of 6,000 riders a month used the bike racks.
Fares
The standard fare became $1 in 1994, up from $0.85 for peak hours and $0.50 for off-peak hours. On July 1, 2007, it was raised to $1.25. In June 2008 the adult fare was raised to $1.50 to help defray the increased cost of fuel. Students at the University of LouisvilleUniversity of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
may ride standard TARC routes for free, discounts are offered to senior citizens and high school students.