TARC to launch first rapid transit bus route from Dixie Highway to downtown Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Transit Authority of River City (TARC) is making the trip from Dixie Highway to downtown Louisville easier for commuters.

Louisville's first rapid transit bus route, dubbed RAPID on TARC's official website, is set to launch Monday, Jan. 6. The route, part of the New Dixie Highway Project, is slated to provide service every 15 minutes during weekdays from Dixie Highway at the Gene Snyder to downtown.

TARC RAPID bus route map — Louisville's first rapid transit bus route is set to launch Monday, Jan. 6. The route, part of the New Dixie Highway Project, is slated to provide service every 15 minutes during weekdays from Dixie Highway at the Gene Snyder to downtown. (Courtesy of Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government)

There will be 37 stops — upgraded, highly visible bus stations — for the RAPID route, which will follow the Dixie Highway/18th Street corridor all the way to Broadway. The six RAPID stops downtown, according to TARC's website, are:

Ninth at Muhammad Ali (northbound and southbound)
Market at Ninth (northbound)
Market at Sixth (eastbound)
Market at Second (eastbound)
Jefferson at Sixth (westbound)

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, Kentucky Secretary of Transportation Jim Gray, U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth and other city officials will be on hand to cut the ribbon to launch the route at 10 a.m. Monday in the parking lot of Kroger at 4915A Dixie Hwy.