A tourist trolley, also called a road trolley, is a rubber-tired bus designed to resemble an old-style streetcar or tram. 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".
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. 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, which also has actual trolley service.
Notable operators of tourist-trolley buses:
New York Trolley CompanyWilliamsburg Area Transit Authority – Local shopping centers and points of interest, including Merchants Square in Williamsburg, VirginiaCapital Metropolitan Transit Authority – Dillo Routes in downtown Austin, TexasErie Metropolitan Transit Authority – Bayliner Route in downtown Erie, PennsylvaniaGray Line WorldwideKingston Citibus in Kingston, New YorkMontgomery Area Transit Service – Lightning Route Trolleys in Montgomery, AlabamaPace – circulator in the Chicago areaChicago Trolley & Double Decker Co. – Largest sightseeing/charter company in the MidwestRed Rose Transit Authority – circulator in downtown Lancaster, PennsylvaniaRhode Island Public Transit Authority – Providence LINK in downtown Providence, Rhode IslandTransit Authority of River City – Louisville, KentuckyVIA Metropolitan Transit – VIA Streetcar in San Antonio, TexasOllie the Trolley in Scottsdale, AZ circulator in Downtown ScottsdaleRiverside Transit Agency – shuttle service in downtown Riverside, CA, Temecula, CA and around UC RiversideMolly's Trolley in West Palm Beach, FloridaI-Ride Trolley in Orlando, FloridaTANK operates Southbound Shuttle, which circles the riverfront cities of Newport, Kentucky, Covington, Kentucky, and Cincinnati, Ohio.Capital Area Transportation Authority – Lansing, Michigan: Under the name "Route 4 Entertainment Express", limited-stop late-night weekend service between Downtown Lansing and downtown East Lansing catering to nightlife.Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) – Saratoga Visitors Trolley (Saratoga Springs, NY; from Memorial Day Weekend until Labor Day Weekend)Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA); Route 55T Tourist Trolley along Pine Avenue in Niagara Falls, New York between Niagara Falls and the Niagara Falls International Airport.Housatonic Area Regional Transit in the past had a trolley service in downtown Danbury, but service was later suspended. Although HARTransit purchased a new trolley in June 2014.Dupont IndustriesGillig CorporationOptima Bus CorporationHometown TrolleySpecialty Vehicles
