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A tourist trolley, also called a road trolley, is a rubber-tired bus designed to resemble an old-style streetcar or tram, usually with false clerestory roof. The vehicles are usually fueled by diesel, or sometimes compressed natural gas.
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". [1]
Tourist trolleys are used by both municipal 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. [2] Tourist trolleys are also run by private operators to carry tourists to popular destinations.
In San Francisco, tourist trolleys mimic the city's famous cable cars.
Tourist trolleys sometimes operate in places which also have streetcars. For example, tourist trolleys operate in Philadelphia, [3] which also has actual trolley service. [4]
Notable operators of tourist-trolley buses:
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five counties in and around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It also manages projects that maintain, replace and expand its infrastructure, facilities and vehicles.
Conservation and restoration of rail vehicles aims to preserve historic rail vehicles.
The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA) is a New York State public-benefit corporation responsible for the public transportation oversight of Erie and Niagara counties. The NFTA, as an authority, oversees a number of subsidiaries, including the NFTA Metro bus and rail system, the Buffalo-Niagara International Airport, the Niagara Falls International Airport and NFTA Small Boat Harbor. The NFTA Metro bus and rail system is a multi-modal agency, utilizing various vehicle modes, using the brand names: NFTA Metro Bus, NFTA Metro Rail, NFTA Metrolink and NFTA PAL.
Buffalo Metro Rail is the public transit rail system in Buffalo, New York, operated by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA). The system consists of a single, 6.4-mile (10.3 km) long light rail line that runs for most of the length of Main Street from KeyBank Center in Canalside to the south campus of the University at Buffalo in the northeast corner of the city. The first section of the line opened in October 1984; the current system was completed in November 1986.
Transportation in Philadelphia involves the various modes of transport within the city and its required infrastructure. In addition to facilitating intracity travel, Philadelphia's transportation system connects Philadelphia to towns of its metropolitan area and surrounding areas within the Northeast megalopolis.
Toronto Transportation Commission (TTC) was the public transit operator in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, beginning in 1921. It operated buses, streetcars and the island ferries. The system was renamed the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) in 1954.
The Boston-area trolleybussystem forms part of the public transportation network serving Greater Boston in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It opened on April 11, 1936, and since 1964 has been operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). The current system consists of the Silver Line (Waterfront), located in the city of Boston. Prior to 1964, several additional trolleybus lines were in operation in Greater Boston, including a group of routes in and around Cambridge, outside Boston proper, that comprised the metropolitan area's only trolleybus service during the period 1964–2004. Measured by fleet size, the system was the third-largest trolleybus system in the United States at its peak, with only the Chicago and Atlanta systems having more trolleybuses than Boston's 463.
The Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA) is the public transit authority that operates mass transit bus service and paratransit within the metro Lansing, Michigan area, including service on the campus of Michigan State University.
Streetcars were part of the public transit service in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in the first third of the 20th century and returned to this role in 2000.
The International Railway Company (IRC) was a transportation company formed in a 1902 merger between several Buffalo-area interurban and street railways. The city railways that merged were the West Side Street Railway, the Crosstown Street Railway and the Buffalo Traction Company. The suburban railroads that merged included the Buffalo & Niagara Electric Street Railway, and its subsidiary the Buffalo, Lockport & Olcott Beach Railway; the Buffalo, Depew & Lancaster Railway; and the Niagara Falls Park & River Railway. Later the IRC acquired the Niagara Gorge Railroad (NGRR) as a subsidiary, which was sold in 1924 to the Niagara Falls Power Company. The NGRR also leased the Lewiston & Youngstown Frontier Railroad.
Streetcars or trolley(car)s were once the chief mode of public transit in hundreds of North American cities and towns. Most of the original urban streetcar systems were either dismantled in the mid-20th century or converted to other modes of operation, such as light rail. Today, only Toronto still operates a streetcar network essentially unchanged in layout and mode of operation.
The Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC) was the main public transit operator in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1940 to 1968. A private company, PTC was the successor to the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (PRT), in operation since 1902, and was the immediate predecessor of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA).
Watertown Carhouse is a bus maintenance facility and former streetcar carhouse located in the southern section of Watertown, Massachusetts, across the Charles River from Watertown Square. As Watertown Yard, the site also serves as a bus depot serving local and express routes, with additional connections available at Watertown Square on the opposite end of the Watertown Bridge.
Route 75 is a trackless trolley route operated by SEPTA in North and Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It connects to the Market–Frankford Line at Arrott Transportation Center Station, and runs primarily along Wyoming Avenue. Route 75 connects to the Wyoming local line and goes to Wayne Junction in Nicetown.
The Buffalo Metropolitan Transportation Center is located on the southeast corner of North Division and Ellicott Streets in Downtown Buffalo, New York. The transportation center is open 24 hours daily.
SEPTA Route 79 is a former trackless trolley and current bus route, operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The line runs between the Point Breeze neighborhood and the vicinity of Pier 70 along the Delaware River. Trackless trolleys replaced buses in 1961 but were suspended in 2003, and the authority later decided against restoring trackless trolley service. Trolley cars had previously served Route 79 from 1912 until 1956.
SEPTA Route 29 is a former streetcar and trackless trolley line and current bus route, operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The line runs between the Gray's Ferry neighborhood and the vicinity of Pier 70 along the Delaware River.
SEPTA's Trolley Route 6, also known as the Ogontz Avenue Line is a former streetcar line and current bus route, operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
The Vancouver trolley bus system forms part of the TransLink public transport network serving Metro Vancouver in the Canadian province of British Columbia. In operation since 1948, the system presently comprises 13 routes and is managed by the Coast Mountain Bus Company, a subsidiary of TransLink. It uses a fleet of 262 trolley buses, of which 74 are articulated vehicles.
The Philadelphia trolleybus system forms part of the public transportation network serving Philadelphia, in the state of Pennsylvania, United States. It opened on October 14, 1923, and is now the second-longest-lived trolleybus system in the world. One of only five such systems currently operating in the U.S., it presently comprises three lines, and is operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), with a fleet of 38 trolleybuses, or trackless trolleys as SEPTA calls them. The three surviving routes serve North and Northeast Philadelphia and connect with SEPTA's Market–Frankford rapid transit line.
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