The Lookout Mountain Incline Railway has long been a boost for CARTA, and lately the help has been even better than before.
CARTA Executive Director Lisa Maragnano said the Incline brought in $471,896 in revenues in a balmy July.
After expenses of $197,479, the profit was $274,417.
The Incline had 74,840 riders in July - up from 66,281 the previous July.
Ms. Maragnano said the Incline will be down 2-3 weeks later this year to replace the cable. She said it has been almost 10 years since it was replaced. It is normally replaced every seven years, but an x-ray analysis showed it could have some extra life.
Steve Jett, CARTA board chairman, said, "We could probably get 14-15 years out of it, so this is not a safety issue."
Total CARTA ridership for July was also up - from 302,845 to 316,307.
Ms. Maragnano also announced that one of the Mocs Express buses is now making a swing downtown. Officials noted this has long been sought by River City Company and other groups.
The service is operated Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 8:05 p.m.
There are three Mocs Express buses - with the other two making a circuit of the campus every seven minutes.
UTC pays for the service.