Lexington, KY - Along with all of the other amenities that have started popping up in the downtown core, LexTran introduced its free downtown circulator -
the Colt Trolley -
the first week of April this year. In its first two months of operation, LexTran has seen over 4,000 passenger boardings each month.
With the goal of linking the University of Kentucky and Transylvania University, and making it quicker and easier to get from the east side of downtown to the west -
while, of course, catching all the bars, restaurants and businesses in between -
the Colt Trolley operates along two routes: the Blue Route, which runs east to west between Midland Avenue and the Lexington Center along Main and Vine Streets, and the Green Route, which runs north to south between the Avenue of Champions and Third Street along Upper and Limestone Streets. Trolley stops are designated with yellow signs along each route.
Unlike a subway train, which makes stops at each station, the trolley operators won't pull over to a stop unless somebody is waiting at a designated point or a passenger indicates they would like to get off by pulling on a rope which runs the perimeter of the interior. On average, a trolley should pass each stop every 10 minutes.
The current routes are a result of a dialogue between downtown institutions and LexTran. "When we put the service on the street, we really looked to our stakeholder groups -
the Downtown Lexington Corporation, the Chamber of Commerce, the Convention of Visitors Bureau, the Lexington Center, business owners and developers -
for guidance on the routes and times. We really wanted them to have a say," said Jill Barnett, the director of community affairs with LexTran.
Though the vehicles may hark back to the Lexington trolleys of yore, the Colt Express is actually comprised of five buses with customized interior and exteriors, and other added frills, to more resemble the nostalgic modes of transportation. There is seating room for about 25 passengers, but like other downtown circulators, there is plenty of standing room as well.
Two trolleys run on each route at any given time, and two of the vehicles are hybrid electric -
the only hybrid electric vehicles currently employed by LexTran in its public fleet at the time.
All five vehicles were purchased with a federal grant through the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program, according to Barnett, and no local tax dollars were used.
Currently, the trolleys run each weekday during lunch hours (11:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.) and in the evenings Thursday through Saturday (6 p.m. - 1 a.m. for the Blue Route; 8 p.m. -
3 a.m. for the Green Route).
Though it is a common request Barnett has to answer, the Colt Trolleys, due to federal regulations, are not available for chartered trips.