Downtown Trolley Service Starts this Weekend

[DTowner]

I had not heard about this until I saw the article in yesterday T.World.  Sounds like a good start.

Trolley service to run downtown on weekends
 

A trolley service will begin running in downtown Tulsa on Friday and Saturday evenings beginning this Friday. Courtesy By JASON ASHLEY WRIGHT World Scene Writer
Published: 11/1/2012  2:02 AM
Last Modified: 11/1/2012  2:55 AM

Downtown's prime entertainment districts will have a new transportation option starting this weekend.

The Brady Arts District Business Association, along with Blue Dome and Deco district businesses, will introduce free trolley service starting Friday.

With a polite nod to Tulsa's oil-splashed glory days, when trolleys connected downtown to other parts of the city, the new trolley service - provided by Old Urban Trolley - will run every Friday and Saturday evening, from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m., linking the Brady Arts, Blue Dome and Deco districts, as well as other points of interest downtown - including the Tulsa Performing Arts Center and the BOK Center.

"Downtown is becoming more and more of a destination," said Bob Fleischman, president of the Brady Arts District Business Association. People used to come almost strictly for business, but that's changing."

The idea for the trolley started with that organization. Businesses within the district were onboard with the idea, but interest grew even more when talk began of going beyond Brady to Blue Dome, then Deco.

The Tulsa Metro Chamber is a sponsor.

Benefits abound, Fleishman said.

"For one thing, it's fun," he said.

People may be inclined to just hop on the trolley and see where it goes.

Plus, it will allow theater patrons to park in the PAC, catch the trolley for dinner somewhere nearby, then return on the trolley in time for curtain call, he said - and, perhaps, even back on the trolley after a PAC production for dessert and back again.

When organizers approached them with the idea, "we were thrilled," said Chad Oliverson, marketing director for the Guthrie Green and Tulsa PAC Trust. "Tulsa is evolving, and transportation of this type is of increasing importance to all venues downtown," Oliverson said.

The complimentary trolley, which will loop approximately every 20 to 30 minutes, will allow visitors to park and ride to various restaurants, clubs, shops and performance venues.

The inaugural trip will depart from the Guthrie Green, 111 E. Brady St., at 5 p.m. Friday. For questions, email choyezatelier@yahoo.com

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/article.aspx?subjectid=38&articleid=20121101_43_D1_CUTLIN997479

[TylerBGoode]

This is terrific. The Brady is also having an Art Crawl tonight, if anyone needs an excuse to take the trolley across the tracks.

[DTowner]

It was not clear if there is a 20-30 minute wait between trolleys or if each trolley (assuming more than one) will take 20-30 minutes to make the entire loop.  Hopefully the latter because long wait times between trolleys will really diminish the usefullness of this service.  Frequency is as or more important than the actual route.

[TheArtist]

At this time there is only one trolley.  At first it was for the Blue Dome and Brady Districts, but the businesses in the Deco District wanted to be included so chipped in (including my own shop which isn't even open yet lol) to bring the route around into our area.  I had hoped that they would get rid of one or two stops in the original area (there were multiple stops right across from each other, and within a block of each other so I thought surely they can get rid of one or two without much harm) guessing that didn't happen.  But can't say too much since we didn't start the route and get things going, they did, we just asked to be included after the fact.  We hope that this will be a good way to get people into the Deco District for the Christmas Pop-Up Shops that will get underway later this month.  I agree that the time between boardings should be shorter, but what can ya do?  I am not going to say "Well, I am going to pull my support because the time between boardings is too long."   

[TheTed]

A good start is a good way to put it. If it gets those unfamiliar with downtown, or those who aren't able to walk between destinations, that is a good thing.

With the wait times, it'll likely be slower than walking. None of those destinations are very far apart. Will any of you guys use it? I can't see myself doing so unless it's raining heavily and the stop is sheltered.

Is there a list of stops somewhere, or will they be marked?

The last trolley (I think it connected all the downtown/midtown bar districts) was a total mystery to me. Where and when it stopped. How to get the boarding tokens, etc. Hopefully this one will be a little more user friendly.

[carltonplace]

A good start is a good way to put it. If it gets those unfamiliar with downtown, or those who aren't able to walk between destinations, that is a good thing.

With the wait times, it'll likely be slower than walking. None of those destinations are very far apart. Will any of you guys use it? I can't see myself doing so unless it's raining heavily and the stop is sheltered.

Is there a list of stops somewhere, or will they be marked?

The last trolley (I think it connected all the downtown/midtown bar districts) was a total mystery to me. Where and when it stopped. How to get the boarding tokens, etc. Hopefully this one will be a little more user friendly.

I would only use it if I was with a group of people, because I always have my bike when I'm down there.

This is great! Hopefully it will catch on and add another car or two to reduce the wait interval to 10 minutes.

[DTowner]

Artist - you were right to seek to connect the Deco District with the other entertainment districts.

Only 1 trolley is a real disappointment.  I'm sure it is cost related, but half measures are often worse than no measures at all.  Treating this like a novelty is likely to result in it being used like one

While signage for stops is important, it is also important to let people know how long it will be for the next trolley.  Many bus systems have signs at stops that give an up to the minute time estimate for the next bus.  That would be really useful, but probably not practical for a sytem with 1 trolley running only 2 nights a week.

Maybe in 2029 under V3 we can put some real money into such a system....

[TheArtist]

It does look like they got rid of some of the stops from what I recall of the "sketch" I saw of the map a while back.  Here is the map now http://www.guthriegreen.com/sites/default/files/Map-trolly.jpg   from the Guthrie Green website   http://www.guthriegreen.com/ 

I think we will have some maps printed up "if we don't as a group I definitely will have one posted in my shop".   Remember, this is funded by business owners, like myself, Mods, Elote, etc., and some organizations chipping in to make this happen.  Not even sure if its something that will be year round or only for the holidays.  If more people and businesses chip in I am sure we could get another trolley.  We sure don't have enough money right now to purchase shelters at stops and the like.  My guess is that people would most likely use the trolley when the weather gets cold and windy, for your right, I timed myself the other day and it took me 5 minutes and 48 seconds lol, to walk from my shop at 6th and Boston to the Blue Dome District at the corner of 2nd and Elgin.  One might also note that that walk has some large pedestrian "unfriendly" gaps at the moment so walking isn't very enticing, especially at night, so a trolley ride might be more enjoyable (especially if it's cold).  But again, yes, really wish the time between stops was shorter. We will see how it goes. 

[carltonplace]

I watched the Trolley go around Friday and Saturday evening and night and it was always well loaded with passengers. It's obvious that there is a rider base for this service.

[Townsend]

Guthrie Green FB post.



The Downtown Tulsa Trolley will be running tonight from 5 pm to 2 am. It's 100% FREE!

Park in the North Garage (enter at 1st and Main) for only $2 (which most The Brady Arts District Businesses will reimburse) and use the trolley to get around downtown!

[Red Arrow]

Park in the North Garage (enter at 1st and Main) for only $2 (which most The Brady Arts District Businesses will reimburse) and use the trolley to get around downtown!

That's the kind of spirit I can endorse.  Someone that actually wants my business.

[davideinstein]

I ate at The Vault last weekend and the bartender said they have a stop right at their front door that has helped them get some business. I hope this keeps going and could open the door to more public transit options (light rail!). I remember in college we used to ride the free trolley that stopped around midtown/downtown, but no one ever rode it besides us it seemed.

[MostSeriousness]

The downtown trolley is back this weekend.

Not sure if it's permanent, The Loop bus didn't seem to attract an audience.

www.trolleymap.com has an altered route, GPS, and new times (6:00pm to midnight). I think the time changes are good - people downtown go home and/or walk if they're sticking around downtown most of the night, and after midnight it's mostly drunks/homeless riding.

[sgrizzle]

The downtown trolley is back this weekend.

Not sure if it's permanent, The Loop bus didn't seem to attract an audience.

www.trolleymap.com has an altered route, GPS, and new times (6:00pm to midnight). I think the time changes are good - people downtown go home and/or walk if they're sticking around downtown most of the night, and after midnight it's mostly drunks/homeless riding.

I had read some notes online that the disco starship aka "The Loop" was ending it's run and the trolley that previously ran was returning.

I was more in favor of a rapid circulator that ran most of the day as opposed to the limited hours pub crawl thing the loop was doing.

[Dspike]

Happy to see this change. I rode the trolley with my children often. We tried the Loop once, it was so loud I could not talk to my children sitting next to me and you could not see out the windows (and we were literally the only people on the bus). Obviously, it was trying to cater to a nightlife crowd, not to families. But I loved the trolley rides because the children could watch out the windows as we went by people and beautiful buildings.

Very excited to get to ride around on the trolley, grab dinner, walk a bit, and spend an evening downtown with the whole family again.