By Justin Leighty, Truth Staff
jleighty@etruth.com
GOSHEN -- People will be able to hop on a trolley on Goshen's southeast side and ride public transit to South Bend starting Monday.
The Michiana Area Council of Governments will announce details of the new service Thursday afternoon in Mishawaka.
The long-awaited link was identified as a priority in a 2007 transportation study by MACOG and was slated to start in late 2007, but the nearly two-year delay came because of difficulties getting funding and vehicles, said Mary Beth McAdams with MACOG.
The link will connect the three services in Elkhart County -- The North Pointe, Concord and Elkhart-Goshen trolleys -- with the TRANSPO system in South Bend and Mishawaka.
The new link trolleys will run between downtown Elkhart, where all three Elkhart County services converge, and TRANSPO route 9 in Mishawaka.
The hourly service starts Monday and will run Monday through Saturday every week.
Linking the MACOG trolleys with the TRANSPO service has been a goal of both services for years. It was identified as a top priority for both Elkhart and St. Joseph counties in the 2007 MACOG study. The new service will provide access to three major hospitals, and Goshen General is only a couple of blocks from the nearest trolley stop. It also provides a link from the Elkhart County area to the South Bend Regional Airport.
Thursday's announcement will also include changes to the North Pointe Route in Elkhart, McAdams said.