Public Transportation In Louisville... (Valley Station, Bardstown: rental, transfer, neighborhood)

[VoicerInVegas]

Hello Everyone!

I am moving to downtown Louisville in the next few weeks, and I detest driving. Knowing I would be moving, I donated my old car to a charity a couple of months ago. I'm from Chicago, where public transportation is stellar, but Vegas, you need a car, or keep Uber on speed dial. I was wondering, would it be better to stick to Uber, or is public transportation a reliable, cheaper alternative? Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

[cubedeathk]

It's not world class or even particularly good by American standards but it's pretty functional if you plan where you live and need to go around it and don't try to go to far, i.e., you can't just choose somewhere randomly (especially outside the Watterson) and expect to be able to use it to get to where you need to go conveniently (though it is possible, as a lot of people who have no choice can and do). In a way downtown is a good place to be since the vast majority of the lines go there so you have straight shots to most places in a city, BUT downtown doesn't really have the amenities and shopping things you need to go to on a regular basis (like no full-service grocery) so you'll essentially have to get on a bus to do most things ... which works well enough if you're on a set schedule like going to work everyday, but they aren't frequent enough to just hop on and go and then come back in a timely manner, and with the huge number of stops it can take a lot longer than you might think ... and to me with the low frequency of buses on all the lines, transfers just always take so long it's out of the question. The best way to use public transit in Louisville is to live right next to a frequent stop in a neighborhood close to downtown that's also close to a grocery and work downtown or somewhere else directly on that bus line. So I would rethink living in downtown proper and instead look for a place close to the Valu-Market in the Highlands or close to the Kroger in Clifton. Louisville isn't dense enough to accomplish everything on foot anywhere (though in places you can hit a lot of things) but it is the perfect size for biking (and there's a decent network of bike lanes and neighborhood cut through streets to get you most places within the Watterson), which I think is pretty necessary if you want to live here without a car, so really anywhere within the Watterson (the closer in the better) would enable you to do everything you need to do on a bike, and combined with the bus and the occasional cab it's definitely pretty easy to get by without a car, but of course it requires some thought and planning and modifications to what you might have been used to when you just assumed you'd drive everywhere, which most people aren't willing to do, so you'll hear "I have to have a car" a lot, but I wouldn't let that discourage you.

[ServoMiff]

Originally Posted by VoicerInVegas

Hello Everyone!

I am moving to downtown Louisville in the next few weeks, and I detest driving. Knowing I would be moving, I donated my old car to a charity a couple of months ago. I'm from Chicago, where public transportation is stellar, but Vegas, you need a car, or keep Uber on speed dial. I was wondering, would it be better to stick to Uber, or is public transportation a reliable, cheaper alternative? Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

Basically keep Uber/Lyft handy. TARC could possibly be valuable but it entirely depends on where you are staying versus where you are going. If you are staying within the I-264 loop, you have a better chance of finding access, but no lines run faster than every 15 mins, so plan accordingly.

We only have the bus system (TARC) and it's functional and useful in certain areas depending on where you're going from downtown, but is nowhere near like CTA, but nowhere near as bad as IndyGo in Indianapolis which is useless.

Best advice is to use Google Maps transit to see if where you're staying and where you're going will get you there in a similar time to driving. Many times it will be double if not triple or more the amount of time to bus versus a Lyft/Uber, but if you're staying within a 2-5 mile radius, then TARC might be fine for you.

[censusdata]

TARC can be good if you're going in a straight line up and down a main route. But it doesn't always connect especially further out. I work with a guy who lives in Valley Station and works near UPS on Grade Ln. Closest bus route is to go all the way to the West End, then take a different bus east, then take another bus south. But if you're just traveling with the Highlands or something it's ok.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by censusdata

TARC can be good if you're going in a straight line up and down a main route. But it doesn't always connect especially further out. I work with a guy who lives in Valley Station and works near UPS on Grade Ln. Closest bus route is to go all the way to the West End, then take a different bus east, then take another bus south. But if you're just traveling with the Highlands or something it's ok.

TARC Is EXCELLENT on Bardstown Rd because 4 different lines use the road so nearest the Valuemrket, they actually come MORE frequent than every 15 minutes during the day. The OP needs to do the following:

Live within 3-6 blocks of Highlands Valumarket to utilize this.

Get a good scooter or electric bike. The Highlands has a great Pedego store. I would think a good electric bike would be imperative. Here is a KEY POINT...talk to local bikers...Jackie Green at Bike Courier's on Market street downtown is your best resource...he will also sell you a great bike if you prefer non motorized/cheaper bikes. He has lived in Louisville decades with no car and loves it! He will also connect you with the very large cycling community


I respectfully disagree with those saying downtown doesn't have what one needs. While there isn't a FULL SIZED grocery, shopping amongst the new Superior Grocery and deli, Falls City, CVS downtown, maybe a couple of the wine stores its doable. Downtown Louisville is sort of a small version of the South Loop from a few years ago....sort of on the urban frontier yet exciting and emerging in ways, especially on Main Street which now has daily tourists in warm weather.

Superior Grocery on 3rd and Broadway is the most complete grocery downtown....cereal, can goods, decent frozen food section....and a complete section of fresh produce, milk, bread, eggs and cheese at prices similar to Kroger or a major chain. It's like a corner store around 6k sq feet you would see in Chicago. Falls City has the prepared foods and a few specialty items found at Whole Foods, along with a hit or miss produce section with mostly a few types of chopped fruits and really best for prepared sushis and salads, also higher end deli meats. Between this and Amazon prime for detergent, TP, and staple non-perishibales....who needs a grocery???


If you don't want to own a electric bike or scooter, this city is so compact it has an EXCELLENT network. There are rentable Lime and Bird scooters, and the Louvelo bike share bike rental system is a steal if you get an annual or monthly pass (I think $15/mo, even less per year).

[lostinthecityneedhelp]

The public transportation in Louisville, Kentucky sucks! Louisville is country and hillbilly, you need a car. If you live on the East end you can forget it, it just doesn't exist. Downtown transportation may be better. Good luck!!

[VoicerInVegas]

Thank you!!

[VoicerInVegas]

Good to know, thank you!

[VoicerInVegas]

Thanks for the Chicago comparison, it helps a lot! I used to live in the South Loop, so I think that grocery store, along with Uber/Lyft if I need to go outside of the area will suffice. Thank you!!