WILMINGTON, N.C. -- The Free Downtown Trolley in Wilmington will run a new route for the month of September. This is the final route experiment for WAVE Transit's pilot program, aimed to increase trolley ridership and better connect downtown Wilmington.

  • The new route will go down Market Street and give passengers easier access to downtown museums like Cape Fear Museum and the Ballemy Mansion Museum
  • WAVE has taken data from past routes and community feedback in order to come up with the new September route
  • This new route will double wait times, taking 40 minutes rather than the usual 20 minutes

"As the downtown continues to change, we want better connectivity and better options than just riding in your personal automobile," said Megan Matheny, WAVE Transit deputy director. 

The new route will go down Market Street and give passengers easier access to downtown museums like Cape Fear Museum and the Ballemy Mansion Museum.

Matheny said WAVE has taken data from past routes and community feedback in order to come up with the new September route.

"[We ask] customers who ride the trolley, 'What is the trolley not currently providing?'" said Matheny. "What areas? What would you like to see that we do differently?"

Community input is imperative for WAVE because they want to know why ridership has gone down over the past year.

In addition to the usual route the trolley takes, WAVE has altered the route once before for a week during the Azalea Festival in April. Ridership during that week hit about 1,500 passengers, up from the usual 600, said Matheny.

Wilmington City council member Paul Lawler said evaluating the three routes will enable WAVE to make a more informed decision on which route benefits more passengers.

Matheny said passengers don't mind a longer route, with longer wait times, as long as the trolley goes more places. This new route will double wait times, taking 40 minutes rather than the usual 20 minutes.

Matheny said changes like this one help them keep up with a growing downtown and needs of the community.

"We really want to provide a trolley system that is efficient and effective for the residents and the tourists that come to our community," said Matheny.

Lawler said WAVE will evaluate the new September route as they are using it, and will be able to decide on a permanent Free Downtown Trolley route to start Oct. 1, 2018.