Looking for free parking during a visit to uptown Charlotte?

Starting today, new transit service will allow drivers to park at the N.C. Music Factory for free and catch a bus to visit attractions in other parts of uptown.

Charlotte Area Transit System will begin service to the area around the Music Factory, an office and entertainment complex in an historic mill property near North Graham Street, at the northern edge of uptown.

Route 26 Oaklawn Avenue starts at the Mecklenburg County Health Department on Beatties Ford Road and travels to the Charlotte Transportation Center, near Bobcats Arena, every 30-45 minutes until after midnight.

A minor route change will allow for a stop at Seaboard and North Johnson streets, which is about two blocks from the Music Factory. The fare is $1.75 each way.

The bus service is an alternative to uptown parking, which is available but can be expensive during major events like concerts and sports events. Even on days without a special event, parking can be pricey for people who want to spend several hours, or the whole day, uptown.

The city has about 1,100 metered spaces, costing $1 per hour, uptown, if you can find one. And parking lots and garages can cost several dollars per hour.

Transit service is something the Music Factory's owners have been pushing for.

"The connectivity to the rest of uptown, in any form or fashion, is a benefit, said Noah Lazes, president of ARK Group, which owns the Music Factory.

The Music Factory, located in the 37-acre Uptown Village, has restaurants, bars, artist and music studios, concert venues and 50,000 square feet of office space.

It also has more than 2,000 off- and on-street parking spaces on and around Seaboard Street, a main entry point.

Free parking, like transportation, is a vital part of developing an arts and entertainment district, Lazes said. The first tenants began arriving in 2006.

Yet the district's parking spaces are underused during the day, Lazes said. Demand for parking increases after dark, when the area's nightlife gets rolling.

But "even when there is the biggest of big concerts, we do not charge for parking," Lazes said.

The bus from the Music Factory will also make stops along North Graham Street and West Trade.

The ride to or from the transportation center, at East Trade and South Brevard streets, will take about 10 minutes.

"It provides a link for people who seek employment there or are going there for entertainment," CATS spokesperson Jean Leier, said of the bus to the Music Factory.