Free trolley rides are now available in downtown McAllen.

The Downtown Circulator Route is a new service designed to help visitors explore without the hassle of finding parking.

"I like that there's a variety of merchandise that you can buy," Weslaco resident Selena Villarreal said. "Not necessarily just one thing."

Walking from shop to shop in the Rio Grande Valley heat can pose a challenge, one the city now has an answer to.

Last week, a new free bus service will help shoppers get around downtown.

"It's designed to get people around downtown in an efficient manner," Metro McAllen Director Mario Delgado said.

The city said the route officially started on Friday, June 19, after two weeks of testing out the service earlier this month. So far, nearly 100 riders have used the new route.

"It's part of a bigger kind of transit plan to grow our system and make it more efficient," Delgado said.

The new service runs throughout most of downtown, Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. Delgado believes the new route will make getting around the area less of a hassle.

"Without having to move your vehicle every time you want to visit a different shop in the area," Delgado said.

The two trolley-styled buses being used for the free service were purchased by Metro McAllen in 2012 for nearly $1 million.

Metro McAllen says talks related to creating a new bus route for downtown started nearly six years ago during the pandemic. That's when the city was creating its updated short-term plan.

Since then, the city has been working on expanding their bus service.

For a map of the route, click here.

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