News

TARC offers fare-free service for this year’s Thunder Over Louisville

April 15, 2026

Louisville, Ky. (April 15, 2026) — This year, TARC will once again offer fare-free service for the full day of Thunder Over Louisville, Saturday, April 18.

To get people home as quickly as possible, five Post-Thunder Boarding Stops have been designated within downtown Louisville—most within blocks of the waterfront. These stops will be available for passengers to board immediately following the event and will be the only downtown boarding options (please see the below map). 

“Providing accessible, worry-free transportation for downtown events is a priority for TARC,” said Executive Director Ozzy Gibson. “Our goal is to make your Thunder Over Louisville traveling experience easy and stress free this year; just hop on the bus, our TARC team will take care of the rest.”

An additional 50 buses will also be added to Saturday’s service to improve frequency of buses on the street and better serve the expected increase of passengers to the event. 

Passengers traveling on TARC to and from Southern Indiana are cautioned that buses on cross-river routes will not make return trips after 8 p.m. due to bridge closures. However, regular non-cross-river service will continue on both sides. 

Please note: 

• Closer to the start of the event, some routes may experience delays or detours due to police barricades and heavy pedestrian traffic. 
• MyTARC cards: Due to the fare-free service being offered, passengers will not be able to load fare to their cards on the bus, however, reloading online will still be available. 
• MyTARC Mobile (Token Transit): Please be aware, you will not need to activate mobile tickets to ride fare-free, and activation of passes will be turned off for this day of fare-free service.
• Please plan your trip ahead of time and know your Post-Thunder Boarding Stop location—in place to assist getting you home quickly—before heading to the event. 

Post-Thunder TARC Boarding Stop locations

Routes going Eastbound from Downtown 

Boarding on Market, near Floyd
#15 – Market Street (to La Grange Road)
#19 – Muhammad Ali (to Oxmoor and Lyndon)
#31 – Middletown

Boarding on Liberty, near Floyd
#17 – Bardstown Road (to Fern Creek and Sebree)
#21 – Chestnut (to Bashford Avenue)
#23 – Broadway (to Jeffersontown and Breckenridge Plaza)
#25 – Oak-Westport Crosstown (to Westport Road and Worthington)
#40 – Taylorsville Road

Routes going Westbound from Downtown

Boarding on Main, near 9th
#15 – Market Street (to Shawnee Park)
#18 – Dixie (to Dixie at Greenwood Road)
#19 – Muhammad Ali (to Park Duvall and Rockford Lane)
#21 – Chestnut (to Shawnee Park)
#23 – Broadway (to Shawnee Park)
#43 – Portland/Poplar Level (to 32nd & Portland Loop)

Routes going Southbound from Downtown

Boarding on 6th, near Chestnut
#4 – Fourth Street (to Iroquois Park and Southland Park)
#6 – Sixth Street (via Central to Auburndale)
#29 – Eastern Parkway

Boarding on 1st, near Muhammad Ali 
#2 – Second Street (to Airport and UPS)
#28 – Preston (to Okolona – Outer Loop Plaza)
#43 – Portland/Poplar Level (to Fern Creek)

Post-Thunder TARC Boarding Stop locations