There’s a free ride you don’t want to miss this weekend, set to transport you and your friends to an unforgettable night Downtown. With months of successful runs of the Riverside/Avondale Night Trolley, several community groups partnered to bring the first Downtown Night Trolley to local urbanites 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday, Aug. 1, and Saturday, Aug. 2.
Thanks to a partnership between Downtown Vision, Inc., the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, TransformJax, The Jacksonville Landing, The Elbow and Downtown bars and hotels, locals can catch a safe, reliable ride to and from nightlife fun Downtown, with nine stops on the route, including Downtown’s nightlife district, The Elbow.
Here’s a great round-up from our friends at Metro Jacksonville on ways to ride the trolley this weekend, including info on how to ride at no cost:
- Pick up a free STAR card to ride the trolley all night by making a purchase from Tuesday through Thursday at participating Downtown merchants. Participating merchants include: the restaurants of The Jacksonville Landing, Mark’s, Dive Bar, Burrito Gallery, Indochine, 1904 Music Hall, The Hourglass Pub, The Volstead, Dos Gatos, Burro Bar and Underbelly.
- Purchase a STAR card to ride the trolley all night for only $4 by visiting Mellow Mushroom Avondale JAX, European Street Cafe, Let Them Eat Cake!, Open Road Bicycles of Avondale, The Silver Cow, Intuition Ale Works, Bold City Brewery and Grassroots Natural Market.
- Without a STAR card, it will cost $1.50 each time you board a trolley. Exact change is required, drivers cannot make change nor accept credit cards. STAR cards cannot be purchased on board the trolley. The Downtown Night Trolley is a separate route and maintains a separate schedule from the Riverside Avondale Night Trolley. Without a STAR card, transfers between trolleys require a fare of $1.50 (exact cash fare required).
For more information on this Downtown Night Trolley trial run – including real-time smartphone app information – visit downtownnighttrolley.com and read the full Metro Jacksonville post. A list of weekend happenings to check out once you’re off the trolley can be found at DVI’s events calendar. Volunteers interested in helping with trolley runs this weekend should contact Mike Field at mikefieldjax@gmail.com.