Rock Region Metro today rolled out a streetcar with sponsor branding in support of the recently begun fare-free promotion.
Charles D. Frazier, executive director of Rock Region Metro, said the company is hopeful other sponsors will join the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau in sponsorships to enhance tourism and economic development downtown through the free-ride promotion. Various levels of sponsorship range from advertising on streetcars and shelters to naming rights.
The streetcar system, which runs in Little Rock and North Little Rock, went free Dec. 21 and the promotion is to last through the year. The streetcar line recorded 6,986 passenger trips in January, 342 percent more than January 2018. Rock Region hopes to get some ideas from the experiment to do more study on streetcar operation.