Photo courtesy of Seashore Trolley Museum Library

In 1941, trolleys were a common sight along Roanoke's streets. Trolleys may soon once again roll along the streets, but this time they'll be buses. Perhaps by the end of the summer, people along Jefferson Street will ride free to the Roanoke City Market, a trip of about 10 minutes.

The "rubberized trolley" between Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital and downtown Roanoke is set to start rolling by the end of this summer.

The board of the Greater Roanoke Transit Co. voted Monday to authorize the purchase of four buses that will be painted to look like classic, red streetcars. According to a rendering, they'll bear the logo, "The Star Line: The Downtown Trolley Network."

Until 1948, Roanoke had a system of streetcars linking downtown to outlying neighborhoods, including a stretch down South Jefferson Street.

Valley Metro General Manager Dave Morgan told the Roanoke City Council earlier Monday that the buses should be up and running by late August or early September. Two buses will run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, to provide free rides along Jefferson Street every 10 minutes.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. -- the busy lunch hour -- a third bus will be added to the mix, reducing the wait to five minutes.

The idea is to shuttle people along Jefferson Street -- including students from the Jefferson College of Health Sciences, Carilion Clinic's approximately 4,000 employees at the hospital and various locations along the street, and anyone else who may want a ride -- to downtown restaurants and other businesses.

There are five stops along the route, but a one-way trip between the Roanoke City Market and Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital is estimated to take only 10 minutes. The other stops include: Franklin Road, the Jefferson College of Health Sciences and Reserve Avenue.

Startup costs for the project total about $1 million, but federal and state grants will cover about 80 percent, leaving the city to pay about $200,000 to get going, Morgan said.

Annual operational costs will run about $300,000, to be split among the city, Downtown Roanoke Inc., Carilion Clinic and the Jefferson College of Health Sciences. Roanoke City Manager Darlene Burcham said she felt the service must be free for riders, and those three entities were chosen because they'll benefit the most from the service.

"We're hopeful this trolley will enable people to park their cars and not use them during the day," Burcham said.

The trolley-style buses will be operated by the Greater Roanoke Transit Co. -- Valley Metro.

The rubberized trolley service has been on the city's agenda since 2001, but it gained momentum after Burcham and other city officials visited Rochester, Minn., home to the Mayo Clinic. City leaders went to get a sense of how the proposed Carilion Clinic idea may affect Roanoke and came home thinking a transportation system to connect the Carilion complex with downtown is a must.

"We came back thoroughly convinced we had to put in place just as soon as possible some form of transportation that would give people in that immediate Reserve Avenue area a feeling they were part of the downtown," Burcham said.

Councilwoman Gwen Mason asked why the trolley-style buses weren't painted with the blue color scheme found in the city logo. Burcham responded that the buses' red and green colors are to set the trolley service off as a different brand from the normal Valley Metro buses.

Councilman Sherman Lea, meanwhile, asked if there are any plans to expand the service beyond the market/hospital route. Burcham said that adding too many places will adversely affect the service's 10-minute time frame, which is crucial to its success as an alternative to driving.