Tourist trolley
Encyclopedia
A tourist trolley, also called a road trolley, is a rubber-tired bus
(usually diesel fueled, sometimes compressed natural gas
), which is made to resemble an old-style streetcar or tram
.
The name refers to the American English
usage of the word trolley to mean an electric streetcar. As these vehicles are not actually trolleys, and to avoid confusion with trolley buses, the American Public Transportation Association
(APTA) refers to them as "trolley-replica buses".
and private operators. Municipal operators may mix tourist trolleys in with the regular service bus fleet to add more visitor interest or attract attention to new routes. In many cities tourist trolleys are used as circulators. A circulator operates a simplified route limited to popular destinations on a fixed schedule with a reduced or free fare. Tourist trolleys are also run by private operators to carry tourist
s to popular destinations.
In San Francisco, tourist trolleys mimic the city's famous cable cars
.
Notable operators of tourist trolleys:
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
(usually diesel fueled, sometimes compressed natural gas
Compressed natural gas
Compressed natural gas is a fossil fuel substitute for gasoline , diesel, or propane/LPG. Although its combustion does produce greenhouse gases, it is a more environmentally clean alternative to those fuels, and it is much safer than other fuels in the event of a spill...
), which is made to resemble an old-style streetcar or tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
.
The name refers to the American English
American English
American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....
usage of the word trolley to mean an electric streetcar. As these vehicles are not actually trolleys, and to avoid confusion with trolley buses, the American Public Transportation Association
American Public Transportation Association
The American Public Transportation Association is a non-profit organization which serves as an advocate for the advancement of public transportation programs and initiatives in the United States. Since its founding in 1882, APTA has educated the public about the benefits of public transportation...
(APTA) refers to them as "trolley-replica buses".
Use
Tourist trolleys are used by both municipalMunicipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
and private operators. Municipal operators may mix tourist trolleys in with the regular service bus fleet to add more visitor interest or attract attention to new routes. In many cities tourist trolleys are used as circulators. A circulator operates a simplified route limited to popular destinations on a fixed schedule with a reduced or free fare. Tourist trolleys are also run by private operators to carry tourist
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
s to popular destinations.
In San Francisco, tourist trolleys mimic the city's famous cable cars
San Francisco cable car system
The San Francisco cable car system is the world's last permanently operational manually operated cable car system, in the US sense of a tramway whose cars are pulled along by cables embedded in the street. It is an icon of San Francisco, California...
.
Operators
- Chicago Trolley & Double Decker Co. – Largest sightseeing/charter company in the Midwest.
- Williamsburg Area TransportWilliamsburg Area TransportWilliamsburg Area Transit Authority is a governmentally-operated agency which provides transit bus and paratransit services in the City of Williamsburg, James City County, and York County in the Historic Triangle area of the Virginia Peninsula subregion of Hampton Roads in southeastern...
– Local shopping centers and points of interest, including Merchants SquareMerchants SquareMerchants Square is an 18th-century style retail village in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, USA.-History:Conceived in 1927 by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Reverend W. A. R. Goodwin , Merchants Square is considered to be one of the first planned shopping districts in the United States, if not the...
in Williamsburg, VirginiaWilliamsburg, VirginiaWilliamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city... - Capital Metropolitan Transit Authority – 'Dillo Routes in downtown Austin, TexasAustin, TexasAustin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
- Erie Metropolitan Transit AuthorityErie Metropolitan Transit AuthorityThe Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority is the transit authority that owns and operates the public transport system in the city of Erie and around Erie County, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, which includes the 'e, the area's transit buses; LIFT, the county paratransit service; and Bayliner Trolley,...
– Bayliner Route in downtown ErieErie, PennsylvaniaErie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...
, PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to... - Gray Line WorldwideGray Line WorldwideGray Line Worldwide operates local sightseeing tours across the world using trolley coaches, double-deckers and standard single deck coaches. It also offers charter services, airport transfers and convention services....
- Kingston CitibusKingston CitibusKingston Citibus is the municipally-owned provider of mass transportation in Kingston in Ulster County, New York. Three local routes are provided, with service to points elsewhere in the county provided by Ulster County Area Transit.-Routes:...
in Kingston, New York - Port of Los AngelesPort of Los AngelesThe Port of Los Angeles, also called Los Angeles Harbor and WORLDPORT L.A, is a port complex that occupies of land and water along of waterfront. The port is located on San Pedro Bay in the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles, approximately south of downtown...
– Port of LA Waterfront Red CarPort of LA Waterfront Red CarThe Port of Los Angeles Waterfront Red Cars are a 1.5-mile heritage streetcar line in San Pedro, Los Angeles, home of the city's port. Their route runs south over a former Pacific Electric right-of-way from the World Cruise Center cruise ship terminal under the Vincent Thomas Bridge to the...
s' Blue and Green lines - Montgomery Area Transit Service – Lightning Route TrolleysLightning RouteThe Capital City Street Railway, also known as the Lightning Route, was the first city-wide system of streetcars established in Montgomery, Alabama, United States on April 15, 1886. This early technology was developed by Belgian-American inventor Charles Joseph Van Depoele. James Gaboury was the...
in Montgomery, AlabamaMontgomery, AlabamaMontgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city... - PacePace (transit)Pace is the suburban bus division of the Regional Transportation Authority in the Chicago metropolitan area. It was created in 1983 by the RTA Act, which established the formula that provides funding to CTA, Metra and Pace. In 2010, Pace had 35.077 million riders. Pace's headquarters are in...
– circulator in the ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
area - Red Rose Transit AuthorityRed Rose Transit AuthorityThe Red Rose Transit Authority is a transit agency serving Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. RRTA is headquartered in downtown Lancaster.RRTA has routes both within Lancaster city, and between Lancaster and other areas of the county. RRTA coordinates a Paratransit service, Red Rose Access, which is...
– circulator in downtown Lancaster, PennsylvaniaLancaster, PennsylvaniaLancaster is a city in the south-central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Lancaster County and one of the older inland cities in the United States, . With a population of 59,322, it ranks eighth in population among Pennsylvania's cities... - Rhode Island Public Transit AuthorityRhode Island Public Transit AuthorityThe Rhode Island Public Transit Authority provides public transportation, primarily buses, in the state of Rhode Island. The main hub of the RIPTA system is Kennedy Plaza, a large bus terminal in downtown Providence, Rhode Island...
– Providence LINK in downtown ProvidenceProvidence, Rhode IslandProvidence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
, Rhode IslandRhode IslandThe state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area... - Transit Authority of River CityTransit Authority of River CityThe Transit Authority of River City is the major public transportation provider for the Louisville, Kentucky, United States metro area, which includes parts of Southern Indiana. This includes the Kentucky suburbs of Oldham County, Bullitt County, Clark County, and Floyd County in southern Indiana...
– Louisville, Kentucky - VIA Metropolitan TransitVIA Metropolitan TransitVIA Metropolitan Transit is the mass transit agency serving San Antonio, Texas. It began operation in 1978 as a successor to the San Antonio Transit System...
– VIA Streetcar in San AntonioSan Antonio, TexasSan Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in... - Ollie the Trolley in Scottsdale, AZ circulator in Downtown Scottsdale
- Riverside Transit AgencyRiverside Transit AgencyRiverside Transit Agency is a joint powers agency that provides public transportation in western Riverside County, California, United States. It operates more than 300 vehicles on 36 local fixed routes, eight long-distance "CommuterLink" express bus routes, and Dial-A-Ride service. RTA was...
– shuttle service in downtown Riverside, CA, Temecula, CA and around UC Riverside
Manufacturers
- Dupon Trolley IndustriesDupon Trolley IndustriesDupont Industries, Inc. is a company specializing in the manufacture and rebuilding of buses. Based in Quebec City, it has been in business for over 60 years.Most of Dupont's clients are in Canada and the United States.-Products:...
- Gillig CorporationGilligGillig Corporation, formerly Gillig Bros., is a manufacturer of heavy-duty low-floor transit buses located in Hayward, California. Prior to 1993, Gillig had also been a manufacturer of school buses.-History:...
- Optima Bus CorporationOptima Bus CorporationOptima Bus, LLC, formerly Chance Coach Inc., is a brand of small transit buses manufactured by North American Bus Industries. It was established in 1976 in Wichita, Kansas....
See also
- TrolleybusTrolleybusA trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...
- Heritage streetcarHeritage streetcarHeritage streetcars or heritage trams are a development of the heritage railways that are becoming popular across the world. As with modern streetcar systems, the vehicles are referred to as trams or tramcars in the United Kingdom, Australasia and certain other places , but as streetcars or...
- Duck tourDuck tourDuck tours, or DUKW tours, are tours that take place on purpose-built amphibious tour buses or military surplus DUKWs and LARC-Vs.Duck tours are primarily offered as tourist attractions in harbor, river and lake cities, such as Halifax, Albany, Austin, Baltimore, Chattanooga, Pittsburgh, Belfast,...
, the use of an amphibious vehicleAmphibious vehicleAn amphibious vehicle , is a vehicle or craft, that is a means of transport, viable on land as well as on water – just like an amphibian....
for sightseeing purposes - Trackless trainTrackless trainA trackless train is a road-going articulated vehicle used for the transport of passengers, comprising a driving vehicle pulling one or more carriages connected by drawbar couplings, in the manner of a road going railway train.-Terminology:Trackless train or land train...
, a kind of road trainRoad trainA road train or roadtrain is a trucking concept used in remote areas of Argentina, Australia, Mexico, the United States and Canada to move freight efficiently. The term "road train" is most often used in Australia. In the U.S. and Canada the terms "triples," "turnpike doubles" and "Rocky Mountain...
for tourists, often with a look of steam locomotiveSteam locomotiveA steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine... - List of buses