Trinity Metro will unveil Blue Line this spring as more color-coded routes proposed
January 25,2025
See full Fort Worth Report article by Eric E. Garcia here.
A rainbow of routes is emerging under Trinity Metro’s planned rebranding of its bus service with a focus on colors.
Two new color-coded bus routes — maroon and green — are currently under consideration, Trinity Metro president and CEO Richard W. Andreski told the Fort Worth City Council on Jan. 14.
The Maroon Line is proposed for a Near Southside route while the Green Line is the choice for the western route to the Fort Worth Zoo, the Fort Worth transit agency’s leader revealed. It’s part of Trinity Metro’s plan to make routes simpler to use by color-coding its buses. Fares have also been simplified.
The agency will hold a public meeting at 6 p.m. Feb. 3 to gather input prior to the planned April launch of the new Blue Line, a rebranding of a downtown Fort Worth route previously known as Molly the Trolley. The meeting, which will also address changes to routes 11, 16 and 55, will be at the Central Station’s John B. Community Room, 1001 Jones St., in downtown Fort Worth.
“We value your opinion on how the changes will impact your experience of using public transit,” Trinity Metro said in a statement.
The public will get its first look at a Blue Line bus in February, Anette Landeros, Trinity Metro’s chief strategic officer, told the Fort Worth Report.
“We’ll be officially unveiling the first Blue Line design at the Visit Fort Worth annual meeting next month and will have the first bus parked out front and ready for everyone to see,” said Landeros, formerly president and CEO of the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Visit Fort Worth, a nonprofit that serves as the city’s tourism arm, will hold its 2025 annual meeting from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Feb. 14 at the Fort Worth Convention Center, 1201 Houston St. To register, go here.
The Blue Line route will provide free rides, thanks to subsidies from Visit Fort Worth and Downtown Fort Worth Inc. The route will roughly border downtown by traveling along Houston Street from West 2nd Street to West 14th Street. From there, the route continues on Throckmorton Street to West Lancaster Avenue, then takes Commerce Street to East 14th Street. From there, the route travels on Jones Street to East 9th Street and back to Commerce before returning to 2nd Street.
Six Blue Line buses will help travelers reach Sundance Square, the Convention Center and the Fort Worth Central transit station, which connects to Amtrak, TEXRail and Trinity Railway Express rail services. The route incorporates vehicles used for the now-defunct Dash, a route between downtown and the Cultural District that ended in September.
Blue Line buses will increase runs to a 10-minute frequency from the route’s previous 15-minute frequency.
The success of the Western-themed Orange Line — which saw substantial ridership increase with free rides after its Sept. 15 debut — is prompting transit changes, agency leaders said.
“Based on our great experience with the Orange Line, customers really enjoy the unique experiential feel of riding our themed buses,” Melissa Chrisman, the agency’s vice president of marketing and communications, told the Fort Worth Report in December.
“They immerse themselves in the Western ride and enjoy the convenience of traveling between downtown and the Stockyards in style,” she said.
Trinity Metro said the public can contribute their ideas in several ways — attending the Feb. 3 meeting is not required to offer input. Comments can be emailed to tmweb@ridetm.org or write Trinity Metro, 801 Grove St., Fort Worth, TX 76102 with attention to Planning & Development. Residents can also call the agency’s comment line at 817-215-8793.
Eric E. Garcia is a senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org.
Disclosure: Mitch Whitten of Visit Fort Worth serves on the Report’s board of directors. News decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Locations Mentioned: Fort Worth Central Station, Fort Worth Convention Center, Sundance Square Plaza