Sun Link Questions (Tucson "trolley") (Green Valley, Congress: buy, live)

[RichCapeCod]

Anyone with any experience riding the Sun Link (Tucson "trolley). I'd like to just take a ride on the thing. Middle of the week during a quiet rider period. Suggestions as to where to park my car? Any other suggestions or thoughts? I'll be coming to town from Green Valley.

Thanks,

Rich

[azdr0710]

park at what's called the "mercado" - west of I-10 off Congress....end of the line for the trolley.....ride it to the other end at the UA Hospital.....along the way, get off, if you want, at 4th Ave, Main Gate area, and/or UA....buy tickets at the stop

Sun Link - The Tucson Streetcar

[RichCapeCod]

Thanks. I did read the info on the web about the system. Looks simple and well thought out. Will buy a couple of "day" passes (around 4 bucks or so) and will make it a mid-day adventure with the wife. Probably look for a lunch spot to stop and get a bite as well.

Rich

[beTucsonan]

Yep - it's basically a bus on rails so don't get your hopes up to high. But there's a lot to do along the route. The Mercado San Augustin (at the western-most stop) has a good lunch spot in Seis Kitchen, and along the route there's plenty more, like Penca, The Cup, Maynards, The Coronet, Martin's, Time Market, the B-Line, etc..

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by RichCapeCod

Anyone with any experience riding the Sun Link (Tucson "trolley). I'd like to just take a ride on the thing. Middle of the week during a quiet rider period. Suggestions as to where to park my car? Any other suggestions or thoughts? I'll be coming to town from Green Valley.

Thanks,

Rich

Rich, the easiest way to do it is to park your car downtown on Congress near 6th. 90% of the time, it is pretty easy to find on-street parking. Jump on the trolley at 6th and Congress and stay on it for the full route.


An easier option would be to park your car in Green Valley in front of the old Family Dollar store. Catch the Green Valley bus (421) to Ronstadt Transit Center at 6th and Congress. Then jump on the street car.


Don't get your hopes up. It is a bus on rails. It gets stuck in traffic. If there is an accident with a vehicle on the tracks which has happened to me once, you stay there until the accident is cleared.


I have ridden the Sun Link ten times. I would estimate that 75% of the riders are UA students. Therefore, the least crowded time for the trolley will be December 20- January 10th.

[jlawrence01]

^^^

One other thing is that the Sun Link employees are not unionized under the same agreement and therefore do not go out on strike when the rest of the bus drivers did earlier this year. That meant that the Sun link was basically the only public transportation available that served the Tucson market during the four or five weeks of the strike.

[RichCapeCod]

Thanks for all the info everyone!!

I'll do a mini-report after taking the ride.

Rich

[Gregory 1]

Just make sure you purchase your ticket and hang on to it or you will get HASSLED by the Street Car Cop Lady like I did.

[smarino]

I remember riding it when we lived in Tucson years ago. It is what it is, a bare bones sorta ride. Funny, Sun Trans had gone on strike not long after I moved there way back when. They had set up no alternative to the bus back then either, which I thought was ridiculous for a city as big as Tucson.

Two thumbs up on the Time Market mention. It was my favorite place to get a coffee or a bite to eat. The street car went right by the front porch.

[jlawrence01]

From Monday's Arizona Daily Star:

First streetcar ride a so-so experience


Note that the author rode the street car during the Christmas break (December 28) when the ridership was very low.


As for transit strikes, I do NOT know of one city that has an alternative to replace the public transportation when they are on strike. NYC didn't when I was there. Other than the number of picketers at Ronstadt Center, I would not have known there was a strike. Traffic did not seem to increase much.