Beginning next month, Wichita’s Q-Line – the free shuttle trolley service – will change routes to serve a broader area, and will include weekday service during lunchtime.

Currently, the trolley service operates in a circular fashion in the downtown area. Wichita Transit Director Steve Spade says the new system will operate north and south, serving hotels on Market and Main streets and in Old Town. Spade says the second route will expand east and west on Douglas.

"It’s also important to link the neighborhoods that are adjacent to downtown so now folks in Delano and College Hill can simply hop a trolley on Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon, Friday evening and get downtown without having to drive," Spade says.

In addition, Spade says lunchtime trolley service will be available every 10 minutes on weekdays from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

"It's about a seven- or eight-minute ride to get from City Hall over to Old Town, so it should be really easy and quick for people who want to run out and grab a bite of lunch," he says.

The new routes will begin in mid-May.

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Carla Eckels is assistant news director and the host of Soulsations. Follow her on Twitter @Eckels.

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