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Fare-free public transportation around Nicholasville will begin on Monday, Feb. 19. In addition to free rides around the Nicholasville Community, Bluegrass RIDE is introducing a new regional route to connect Nicholasville to Lexington and Danville.

During the past year, Bluegrass Ride launched fare-free local transit services in Danville and Georgetown. According to Lacey Johnson, Bluegrass Ride’s fixed route driver supervisor, the program has skyrocketed public transportation ridership numbers in both locations.

According to Taylor Veatch, BGCAP Senior Director of Transportation Services, “In both communities, we have seen an incredible response as residents embrace this new, free way to get around town. We are very excited to expand this success to Nicholasville.”All of Bluegrass RIDE’s routes are operated with brand-new, climate-controlled vehicles for a clean, comfortable ride. Nicholasville’s old routes will be replaced with the three new routes and all local transit will be free.

Bluegrass RIDE’s local service in Nicholasville will feature:
• Three routes that will serve all of Nicholasville’s important destinations, including Walmart, Kroger, the Jessamine County Public Library, and Nicholasville City Hall.
• Signed bus stops throughout Nicholasville, where riders can hop on and off the bus for free.
• Buses every hour, from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Monday through Friday and 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.
• Free rides, so riders can forget about high gas prices.

The regional route will feature:
• Stops in Danville, Nicholasville, and Lexington, with connections to Lextran, Greyhound and the UK shuttle system.
• Three round trips per day, Monday through Friday.
• Only $5.00 per trip between cities.

Bluegrass RIDE is a service of the Blue Grass Community Action Program. Complete information about Bluegrass RIDE, including route maps and schedules, can be found at BluegrassRide.org. Once the routes are in service, riders will also be able to get detailed transit directions in Google Maps simply by entering their starting point and destination, then clicking on the transit icon.