Just beating a deadline vowed last April by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, the 2.7-mile Atlanta Streetcar began passenger operations Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2014, fulfilling a pledge to begin service before the end of the year.
Initially targeting a spring 2014 debut, the streetcar's opening day slipped repeatedly throughout the year, pushed back to November, then Dec. 6, before making its actual appearance on the rails.
Atlanta becomes the second U.S. city to initiate streetcar service in 2014, joining Tucson, Ariz.'s Sun Link, which began operations last July. With the year drawing to a close, streetcar advocates were resigned to a third new line, along H Street in Washington, D.C., not opening before 2015 began.
Service on the line will be free of charge for the first three months of operation, while Mayor Reed noted in a statement that children under 10 years of age will "always ride free."
The City of Atlanta will share direct operating responsibility of the new line with Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), which agreed last spring to act as a partner in the effort. Protected by four Siemens S70 streetcars, the line includes 12 stops, and offers direct connections to MARTA rapid rail service at Peachtree Center Station.