Starting Thursday, Miamians will be able to catch a free ride on the city's new trolleys.
The diesel-run vehicles will run every 15 minutes between 6:30 a.m. and 11 p.m. in the Miami Health District Monday through Saturday.
The city has a fleet of 14 trolleys, but on Thursday, four were running. An official launch will be held next week at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
"I'll try it," said nurse practitioner student Cynthia Alceus, on her way to work early Thursday.
The trolley route will pass along sites including Jackson Memorial, University of Miamiās Miller School of Medicine, Biomedical Research Institute and Hospital, the courthouse, Marlins Stadium, and others.
"We're still figuring it out," said Albert Sosa, City of Miami spokesman, who expects to adjust routes and times based on need.
Sosa expects the service to cost between $2.5 to $3 million a year once service is added to Brickell, Biscayne Boulevard, and Overtown.
State and federal stimulus dollars helped buy the vehicles, and Florida Department of Transportation will foot half the operations bill for the first three years.
The rest will come from the City of Miami's share of an already existing half-cent transportation sales surtax collected county wide.
