public transportation in Louisville (Bardstown, Shelbyville: apartments, rent, credit)

[Catholicalways]

Hi! I might be relocate to Louisville soon. Could you tell me anything about public transportation? Is it possible to get around Louisville without a car? There's a good chance I'll be living in or around the Hurtsbourne section (although I'm interested in learning about public transportation in general). Thanks in advance!

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by Catholicalways

Hi! I might be relocate to Louisville soon. Could you tell me anything about public transportation? Is it possible to get around Louisville without a car? There's a good chance I'll be living in or around the Hurtsbourne section (although I'm interested in learning about public transportation in general). Thanks in advance!

The public transportation, like that in most mid sized cities, basically sucks. It is hard to get anywhere via bus outside the downtown area and the immediate surroundings. There are no plans for light rail or heavy rail. There are reliable buses taking you from Hurstbourne to downtown, but you have to time it well:

TARC: Transit Authority of River City (http://www.ridetarc.org - broken link)

That said, Louisvile's sytem seems to be as good or better as any metro area under 3 million. For example, I do not think you would notice much of a difference bewteen bus transit in Louisville versus Cincinnati or Nashville or any other city without mass transit (although Nashville does have one small commuter rail line now, to its credit). I think it is quite the average system for a city our size The lack of mass transit is more a reflection of the pathetic state of public transportation in the US today, especially compared to Europe and even much of Asia.

[Catholicalways]

Originally Posted by stx12499

The public transportation, like that in most mid sized cities, basically sucks. It is hard to get anywhere via bus outside the downtown area and the immediate surroundings. There are no plans for light rail or heavy rail. There are reliable buses taking you from Hurstbourne to downtown, but you have to time it well:

TARC: Transit Authority of River City (http://www.ridetarc.org - broken link)

That said, Louisvile's sytem seems to be as good or better as any metro area under 3 million. For example, I do not think you would notice much of a difference bewteen bus transit in Louisville versus Cincinnati or Nashville or any other city without mass transit (although Nashville does have one small commuter rail line now, to its credit). I think it is quite the average system for a city our size The lack of mass transit is more a reflection of the pathetic state of public transportation in the US today, especially compared to Europe and even much of Asia.

Thanks for the info and link. If I do relocate, I'm unsure whether or not I'm going to have access to a car. Where is Hurstbourne in relation to the downtown area of Louisville and its surrounding areas? Far away, close away, etc.? Also, I'm probably going to join a parish on 639 S. Shelby St., St. Martin of Tours. Apparently it's accessible by public transportation. Would anyone know if this church is in the downtown section? Thanks!

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by Catholicalways

Thanks for the info and link. If I do relocate, I'm unsure whether or not I'm going to have access to a car. Where is Hurstbourne in relation to the downtown area of Louisville and its surrounding areas? Far away, close away, etc.? Also, I'm probably going to join a parish on 639 S. Shelby St., St. Martin of Tours. Apparently it's accessible by public transportation. Would anyone know if this church is in the downtown section? Thanks!

The church is downtown (slightly east of downtown techincally in a gentrifying area known as Phoeniz Hill) but ld personally recommend living closer to downtown or downtown itself. Somewhere on Bardstown Road is very safe and right on the bus line which takes you to St. Martin's. Look at the maps on that website link. The area around Bardstown and Grinstead is very nice and you would be able to easily get to St Martins in 5-7 minutes at almost any time of the day, as buses come every 15-20 minutes during peak hours.

[Catholicalways]

Originally Posted by stx12499

The church is downtown (slightly east of downtown techincally in a gentrifying area known as Phoeniz Hill) but ld personally recommend living closer to downtown or downtown itself. Somewhere on Bardstown Road is very safe and right on the bus line which takes you to St. Martin's. Look at the maps on that website link. The area around Bardstown and Grinstead is very nice and you would be able to easily get to St Martins in 5-7 minutes at almost any time of the day, as buses come every 15-20 minutes during peak hours.

Hello! Thanks so much for you info... you've been more than helpful. I hope you don't mind if I bug you with another question . I'd like to live in downtown Louisville but I'm concerned about rent (money's tight for me) and that I'd be working in the Hurtsbourne section. What is the average rent for a 1 bedroom apartment in a decent section? Do you know if it would be possible to take a bus to Hurtsbourne weekday mornings?

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by Catholicalways

Hello! Thanks so much for you info... you've been more than helpful. I hope you don't mind if I bug you with another question . I'd like to live in downtown Louisville but I'm concerned about rent (money's tight for me) and that I'd be working in the Hurtsbourne section. What is the average rent for a 1 bedroom apartment in a decent section? Do you know if it would be possible to take a bus to Hurtsbourne weekday mornings?

When you say you want to live downtown, do you mean the actual CBD (like where the skyscrapers are?) If that is the case, you can find a nice one bedroom for around 500 (includes utilities) at Barrington Place apartments, which is a nice mid rise structure in a nice location near the 4th street Live entertainment area. It may be quite a hike to get to Hurstbourne, but downtown has the best bus service of anywhere as every major route in the city passes through downtown at some point. That said, it may take you awhile. There are several "express" buses to the suburbs to and from downtown. These generally run on a 9-5 type schedule and mostly take people from the suburbs to downtown at 8 or 9 and them take them back to the suburbs at 5 PM after work. Many communters use this option with high gas prices. One of the main express routes to Hurstbourne is the Plainview express, or route 61. All this information is on ridetarc.org. Simply look at the maps, I trust that you can figure it out....

[emanresu]

I would try to live in the Highlands / Bardstown Rd. area. To get to Hurstbourne, you could take the 23 south on B-town road out Taylorsville Rd. to Hurstebourne Ln. You could also easily take the bus to downtown for church. So, if I were you, I'd try to live somewhere off Bardstown road south of Eastern Pkwy. but north of the Waterson Expwy. Hope this helps.

[Catholicalways]

Thanks a lot! You've both been very helpful.

[Angry Aspie]

There are some several nice neighborhoods just east of downtown Louisville, namely Phoenix Hill and Butchertown. Both are dense, but still made up of individual homes from the 1890s (mostly shotgun houses).

Rent in that part of the city would only run from maybe $350 for a studio to $425 for an average one bedroom, to $480 for a really nice one bedroom.

I used to live in the Original Highlands, just up the hill from this area, so I am quite familiar with it.

OK, it looks like from the aerial image that 639 S Shelby Street is located near Campbell St & Broadway. There are some really cool Victorian Houses just up the hill on East Broadway. I would check there. (This looks like a triangle on the image a few blocks east)
INFO ABOUT THESE AREAS:
Butchertown - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Phoenix Hill - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

AERIAL IMAGES (639 South Shelby Street highlighted):
Microsoft TerraServer Imagery (http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?T=4&S=11&Z=16&X=1525&Y=10584&W=3&qs=639 +South+Shelby+Street%7cLouisville%7cKY%7c&Addr=639 +S+Shelby+St%2c+Louisville%2c+KY+40202-1657&ALon=-85.7393080&ALat=38.2455570 - broken link)

[Catholicalways]

Originally Posted by Angry Aspie

There are some several nice neighborhoods just east of downtown Louisville, namely Phoenix Hill and Butchertown. Both are dense, but still made up of individual homes from the 1890s (mostly shotgun houses).

Rent in that part of the city would only run from maybe $350 for a studio to $425 for an average one bedroom, to $480 for a really nice one bedroom.

I used to live in the Original Highlands, just up the hill from this area, so I am quite familiar with it.

OK, it looks like from the aerial image that 639 S Shelby Street is located near Campbell St & Broadway. There are some really cool Victorian Houses just up the hill on East Broadway. I would check there. (This looks like a triangle on the image a few blocks east)
INFO ABOUT THESE AREAS:
Butchertown - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Phoenix Hill - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

AERIAL IMAGES (639 South Shelby Street highlighted):
Microsoft TerraServer Imagery (http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?T=4&S=11&Z=16&X=1525&Y=10584&W=3&qs=639 +South+Shelby+Street%7cLouisville%7cKY%7c&Addr=639 +S+Shelby+St%2c+Louisville%2c+KY+40202-1657&ALon=-85.7393080&ALat=38.2455570 - broken link)

That sounds very interesting and affordable. I'd need to take the bus to Shelbyville Road near Evergreen to get to work. I think Bus 31 is the only bus that goes there. Do you know if it would be possible to get there from Phoenix Hill or Butchertown? If so, approximately how long would it take?