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Tucson is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix. The Census Bureau estimated that the city's population was 541,811 in 2008. It is the second largest city in Arizona and the location of the University of Arizona.
Tucson was developed on a grid plan and city growth has occurred to the east since expansion to the west is limited by the Tucson Mountains.
Local public transit in Tucson is provided by Sun Tran, which operates a network of bus routes and serves the major part of the Tucson metropolitan area. Construction of a modern streetcar line is planned, as part of a Regional Transportation Authority plan approved by voters in May 2006.
Old Pueblo Trolley operates weekend heritage streetcar service between the Fourth Avenue Business District, the University of Arizona, and the downtown district.
Tucson International Airport is Tucson's public airport and is located six miles south of Tucson's central business district. TIA is the second largest commercial airport in Arizona, providing nonstop flights to 17 destinations throughout the United States. Tucson International Airport is not a hub or focus city for any major passenger airline carrier. TIA is also used by the Arizona Air National Guard.
Tucson does not have a large freeway system. I-10, which provides east-west travel and I-19, which runs from Tucson south to Nogales, on the Mexican border, are the only two interstate highways in the metropolitan area.
Amtrak provides service to Tucson six times weekly. Amtrak operates its Sunset Limited between Orlando and Los Angeles and its Texas Eagle between Chicago and Los Angeles.
In 2006, as part of the adoption of the Regional Transportation Plan, Pima County voters also passed a 20-year, 1/2-cent sales tax to finance roadway, transit, safety, environmental, and economic vitality projects. The Regional Transportation Plan is managed by the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA). The Regional Transportation Authority is managed by Pima Association of Governments (PAG). For more information about PAG and RTA , please click here. Tags: Tucson |