New Trolley Routes in Service June 4

After a pause in service due to COVID-19 closures, Greenlink will resume trolley service on Thursday, June 4 with a redesigned trolley route network. There will be four routes: the North Main Route and South Main Route, which will operate year-round, and the seasonal Attractions Route and West End Route, which will operate April through September.

Greenlink held a series of public hearings last fall, and the changes to the trolley routes are the result of requests for more frequent service, a focus on connecting popular destinations with more parking options and attempts to structure routes around common road closures to provide more consistent service for customers. According to Greenlink Public Transit Director James Keel, the new routes are shorter, which means shorter wait times for customers. “We’re installing new trolley stop signs, which display unique stop numbers assigned to each location,” said Keel. “Customers will be able to use the stop IDs to see real-time arrival predictions on the FindGreenlink app or use the call or text features to see the exact time the trolley will arrive at their stop.”

The North Main Route and South Main Route will operate on Thursday and Friday from 6 to 11 p.m.; on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. and on Sunday from 1 to 8 p.m.

The Attractions Route, which connects the Greenville Zoo to Heritage Green, will operate on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on Sunday from 1 to 8 p.m.

The West End Route, which connects South Main Street to the Village of West Greenville, will operate on Thursday and Friday from 6 to 11 p.m. and on Saturday from 5:30 to 11 p.m.

All trolley routes will originate at the Greenlink Transit Center at 100 West McBee Avenue. For more information, including trolley route maps, visit ridegreenlink.com/Trolley.

501, 504, and 507 Route Changes Effective July 1

The Greenville Transit Authority approved changes to three Greenlink bus routes at its May 28 board meeting. The changes below will go into effect on July 1:

Route 501: Pleasantburg – upon leaving Greenville Tech, the route will now serve the Phoenix Center on Cleveland Street before returning northbound on Pleasantburg Drive to serve the Arcadia Hills neighborhood.
Route 504: Anderson – to serve the Greenville Memorial Hospital campus and surrounding medical facilities more quickly, the route will turn left off of Anderson Road onto Dunbar Street, right onto Augusta Street and right onto Mills Avenue.
Route 507: Augusta – the route will serve the stops near the intersection of Mauldin Road and South Pleasantburg Drive previously served by Route 501.

New bus route maps and schedules are available at RideGreenlink.com/BusRouteChanges.

Thank You, Mechanics!

In recognition of National Automotive Service Professionals Day (June 12), Greenlink would like to thank our mechanics, shop foremen, and maintenance team!

We’re Hiring!

Greenlink will be a host site for a United Way of Greenville County AmeriCorps Upstate member to promote public transportation usage and educate Greenville County on the important role that public transportation plays in our community. To assist in that effort, we’re looking for a team member to work with non-profits and transit riders to provide mobility management assistance, increase TouchPass usage, increase public participation in any service-related changes, track demographic data of ridership, and engage new community partners. Follow the steps below to apply:

Create an account on the nationwide MyAmeriCorps portal: https://my.americorps.gov/
Complete and save a general team member application
Submit your completed application to our specific listing (AmeriCorps Upstate) at my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/viewListing.do?id=51075

For questions about AmeriCorps Upstate, please contact the United Way Coordinator at ablakely@unitedwaygc.org.

Paper Punch Passes Transitioning to TouchPass

To streamline the boarding process, provide more customers with fare capping benefits, and provide contactless payment methods that are cleaner and safer for drivers and customers, Greenlink will no longer sell 20-ride paper punch passes effective July 1.

Moving forward, customers may purchase 20-ride passes via TouchPass – by either loading the pass onto their smartcard or on the TouchPass smartphone app. Greenlink is offering FREE TouchPass smartcards between July 1 and December 31, 2020. Effective January 1, 2021, TouchPass cards will require a $2 activation fee and 20-ride paper punch passes will no longer be accepted as a valid form of fare payment when boarding a bus.

Visit the Greenlink dispatch booth to learn more about TouchPass.