MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It was the last Friday of the month and that meant Downtown Memphis’ monthly Trolley Night was underway — only this time, there wasn’t a trolley in sight.

This comes after the Memphis Area Transit Authority discontinued the service to save money.

The rain interrupted the festivities for a moment Friday, but it didn’t keep the crowd away, and neither did the lack of trolleys.

“We’re going to go forward, I mean we are going to go and do what we do,” said Tawanda Pirtle, owner of Feelin’ Memphis on South Main Street. “We are upset, don’t get us wrong.”

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Pirtle said that when MATA announced it was slashing bus routes and the trolley service, it hurt. The trolleys brought visibility to South Main businesses, she said.

Among the hundreds showing up for the monthly event were former trolley workers. They came to call out MATA, and call on city council to step in with more funding for the public transit system to help put trolleys back on these tracks.

“I woke up one morning and get a call and I didn’t have a job,” one driver said. “It’s just like you putting me out without my 60-day notice.”

Business owners agree, saying there needs to be more investment in downtown Memphis.

“Downtown is that important,” Pirtle said. “Somehow we have got to make our city leaders understand what beautification means, understand what cleanliness means, understand what public transportation means.”

While they wait to see if the trolleys return, they’ll do what they can to keep the crowds coming back.  

They want the trolleys back on the tracks, but businesses along South Main have also been pushing for more security. 

A portion of the money raised from people attending the night goes to install more safety cameras on the street.