What Guides us
We’re more than just the cutest form of transportation.
Timeless. Whimsical. Community Building.
Sure, trolleys are a little “Old Fashioned.” But to us, they’re a nod to a bygone era. An era where careful craftsmanship was valued over corner-cutting. When community felt deeply connected, and public transportation was exciting – and a little bit whimsical.
We yearn for a world where we can hop on a trolley to head to the market, to support local businesses, to work and school and play. A world where everyone stepping on board is treated like royalty, no matter who they are or where they came from.
Our goal is to build community in Louisville, one ride at a time.
All Aboard the Old Fashioned Express
The name “Old Fashioned Express” exists at the intersection of two meanings. Yes, we’re named for Louisville’s official cocktail, a wink and a nod to Bourbon City’s official cocktail. But we’re also named for a bygone era. A time when trolleys connected neighborhoods and communities, when craftmanship was valued more than cheap corner cutting, and a time when your community felt as connected as walking out your front door and hopping on the trolley to go visit a friend. Now, we’re not trying to live in the past (most of it was terrible and shoudn’t be repeated). We’re just trying to bring back the good parts. Community. Whimsy. Connection.
What we Believe
We believe cities are best understood slowly, with good company and a great story. We believe in craft: in doing things properly, not just efficiently.
We believe in community. The original promise of public transit wasn’t just to move people from point A to point B, it was to weave a city together. To make neighbors out of strangers. To say: this city belongs to all of us, and here’s a seat. We’re not public transit. But we carry that spirit.
We believe Louisville deserves to be celebrated. Its architecture, its history, its food, its bourbon, its contradictions, its charm. There is so much story here, and we consider it a genuine privilege to tell it.
We believe the best moments in life – the wedding days, the birthday nights, the Tuesday evenings when someone decides to do something memorable just because – deserve more than a minivan. They deserve a brass rail and a bell and the wind in your hair as Louisville rolls by.
And yes, we believe in a well-made Old Fashioned. Obviously.