Photos by Stephanie Klein-Davis | The Roanoke Times

Sharon Jones (left), Stephanie Coles, Vernell Coles, Cliff Baumgarner and Jeff Sizemore take one of the first rides on the new Star Line trolley Wednesday morning as the free passenger service is rolled out in downtown Roanoke.

Roanoke Mayor David Bowers invites a group at a news conference Wednesday morning to take a free ride on the Star Line trolleys that will run between the Roanoke City Market to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital from Monday through Friday.

The trolleys resemble streetcars but run on diesel fuel and ride rubber instead of rails.

In short, they are quaint-looking buses that sport wooden seats and other nostalgic touches.

Beginning today, on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., people can board a Star Line trolley for free and travel up and down the South Jefferson Street corridor between the Roanoke City Market and Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital and a handful of points in between.

The Valley Metro-operated trolleys will hit stops about every 10 minutes, with shorter intervals during the midday lunch crush.

Along for the ride will be some exuberant optimism about the trolleys' potential economic influence.

Mayor David Bowers predicted before a preview trip Wednesday that "development along Jefferson will be phenomenal" as the trolleys take hold. Jefferson Street could once again be Roanoke's main street, he said.

That may be. Research suggests, however, that trolleys screeching along old-style steel rails provide a better sense of permanence for developers contemplating projects.

David Trinkle, a member of the Roanoke City Council, said the city has not abandoned the idea of rail-riding streetcars but noted that such a project could cost $80 million or more.

Development aside, the free rides up and down Jefferson Street will provide public transportation for a host of people who might, like 1960s singer Petula Clark, want to go downtown. Make that downtown and back, if desired, with a total of nine stops along the length of the route, with nary a fret about downtown parking.

The two-mile loop also includes short stretches of Franklin and Williamson roads downtown.

The city matched government grants to help raise the $1 million required to buy the four red and beige trolleys from manufacturer Double K of Wisconsin. The city taxpayer portion was about $200,000, according to City Manager Darlene Burcham.

Valley Metro added 4.5 employees to staff the 35-foot-long trolleys, which seat 31 and are wheelchair accessible.

Estimated annual operating costs will be about $260,000. The city and two partners, Carilion Clinic and Downtown Roanoke Inc., will shoulder about $85,000 of those annual costs, Burcham said, with grants covering the rest.

Dr. Ed Murphy, Carilion Clinic's chief executive officer, rode the trolley Wednesday.

"I think it benefits us to the extent that it benefits everybody," said Murphy, who has been active in regional economic development efforts.

"It's a boon for downtown businesses," he said.

The trolley network is one more step forward, he said, toward raising the profile of the Roanoke Valley. Saturday's opening of the Taubman Museum of Art downtown was another, he said.

In the vicinity of Reserve Avenue and South Jefferson Street, Carilion is at the center of new construction and redevelopment at a once blighted area.

Projects include construction of Carilion's clinic building and the $59 million building that will house the new Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute.

The trolleys will offer transportation for Carilion employees and patients, as well as students at the Jefferson College of Health Sciences, who might have clinical practice sessions at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital or adjunct classes at the Roanoke Higher Education Center at the north end of Jefferson Street.

Sands Woody, owner of the Trio Bistro Bar Bottle restaurant on the city market and a resident of downtown, said he welcomes anything that helps bring potential customers to the heart of the city.

"I think it may be one of the best things to happen to the market area since I've been down here," Woody said. "I'm thrilled."