10489631_10152460531486317_1772228662903586711_n-450x450The free ride on the Downtown streetcar line is over. As of Jan. 1, a $1 fare is now being charged with a variety of pass options available through the MARTA Breeze card system. You can see the fares and passes at streetcar.atlantaga.gov.

Ticket machines will be located on the platforms at streetcar stops on the 2.7 mile loop.

The City of Atlanta, in partnership with Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, will launch a new marketing campaign, ‘A buck is fare,’ featuring former Atlanta Hawk Dikembe Mutumbo, and Atlanta professional and college sports mascots to promote the start of fare collections in the New Year.

At the end of November, the Atlanta Streetcar had been ridden by more than 680,000 passengers since opening on Dec. 30, 2014.

Collin Kelley is the executive editor of Atlanta Intown, Georgia Voice, and the Rough Draft newsletter. He has been a journalist for nearly four decades and is also an award-winning poet and novelist.