trolleys & trains

At first blush, you might think the HTA trolleys and trains in our left of sensible little city were our public transportation system. After all, at any given time, there are far more of them on the streets than our real city buses.
(yes, we have city buses too!)

But no, the HTA trolleys and trains are for the tourists.
Originating from Mallory Square, the trains run tour routes throughout the city while the trolleys pick up and deliver riders at "official" trolley stops strategically located near attractions, landmarks and, of course, shopping.

Powered by propane, the top speed of our trolleys and trains is something like 15 to 20 MPH and riders are treated to a scripted verbal overview of the sights and history of our fair city, recited by the drivers as they roll along our otherwise quiet streets.

 Now, if you're driving and get caught behind a trolley or train, you're not going anywhere in a hurry.
So if you're on your way to your job, the odds are you're going to be late for work. But at least when you do finally get in, all you've gotta tell the boss is "I got conch trained" and it's like a get out of jail free card.
I mean, everybody knows about the traffic back-ups behind the trolleys and trains, even your boss.

 A few years ago the HTA trolley's monopoly on shuttling tourists around was challenged by another trolley company.
CityView trolley wanted a piece of the pie and HTA resisted.
There was a brief city commission/legal kerfuffle over routes, rights-of-way and trolley stops but at the end of the day, the pie was big enough for both and today we have another fleet of slow moving, talking tour trolleys trolling our narrow,
one way Old Town streets.

Sorry boss, I got conch trained, again. . .