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Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is a Heritage Trolley Streetcar?
Q: How does a Streetcar compare to a city bus? A: Rail based systems have numerous advantages that help outweigh its higher capital cost:
Q: What will the streetcar cost? A: Costs of streetcar lines vary widely because the specific needs of each community is different. Streetcar lines across the country have ranged from $7.1 million per mile in Little Rock, Arkansas to $12 million per mile of track in Portland, Oregon (these amounts include the cost of the streetcar vehicles). Connect Austin's proposed North-South Line from Auditorium Shores to UT Austin is roughly two miles. The East/West line from the Convention Center to Lamar is approximately a mile and a half. Depending on the type of cars and improvements on the street, the cost of the line would average about 10 million a mile. Some other examples include: Portland, Oregon, The 4.6 mile loop line was constructed for $12.4 million per mile, including seven modern streetcars. Tampa, Florida, a 2.3 mile line built for $13.7 million per mile including eight Heritage streetcars. Little Rock, Arkansas, a 2.1 mile line built for $7.1 million per mile, including three streetcars. San Pedro, California, built a 1.5 mile line for $4 million per mile. Q: What is the difference between Streetcars and Light Rail?Streetcars are NOT Light Rail. The main difference is purpose: streetcars serve as circulators in urban areas while a Light Rail line may operate ten or twenty miles out beyond the downtown, running at high speeds between suburban stations spaced a mile or more apart. Streetcars operate in the downtown and perhaps a bit beyond it, picking people up and letting them off at frequent stops. A table showing the differences between Light Rail and Streetcars:
Q: How long would it take to build the Streetcar? A: The construction period can begin only after a multi-year Federal transportation process designed to determine the best routes and vehicles to serve the proposed area. While the time period will depend upon the route and the existing street and underground utility conditions, Streetcars have clear construction advantages that make them a good fit for city streets.
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A: The line is built completely in the pavement of city streets and operates in mixed traffic, just as a traditional streetcar line did. It is confined completely to the downtown area, as is normally the case with heritage trolley lines. However, the cars operated on the modern line are of a new European low floor design. Service is frequent, stop spacing is relatively short, and average operating speed is low. City officials in Portland, Oregon chose modern streetcars, rather than much lower initial cost buses, as they believed the streetcar would attract more riders, inspire development, and generally make a positive contribution to the urban environment. For more information see 
A: The terms Heritage Trolley and Vintage Trolley are used to describe modern use of trolleys of a design dating from roughly 1900 to 1950. The terms can be used to refer either to a replica car that more or less accurately reproduces a trolley from the first half of the 20th century, or to an original preserved car restored to accurate or nearly accurate standards. Some in the field use the term Vintage Trolley to describe an original car being used in regular streetcar service today and the term Heritage Trolley for a replica car, but many others use the two terms interchangeably. In either case, the trolley (or streetcar) is typically of either a small single truck design (two axles assembled into a truck that does not swivel with respect to the car body) or a larger double truck design (four axles, two each assembled into a pair of trucks that swivel beneath the body). Single truck cars are normally less than 30 feet long and can seat up to 25-30 people. For more information see 
In San Francisco, the 8-Market electric trolley bus line was replaced by 50-year old heritage trolleys, renamed as the F-line, running over the identical route in the mid 1990s by the Municipal Railway of San Francisco (Muni). According to the agency's own figures, in September 1994, the route 8 trolley bus averaged 5,813 riders per day. By November of 1997, the heritage trolleys on the same route were averaging 7,896 riders per day over the identical route, a 35% increase. Ridership has grown steadily since then and, including the Embarcadero extension, now is reported to exceed 19,000 per day. The Muni is hard pressed to run enough cars to meet the demand. The F-line service is one of the most popular services offered by the agency among both residents and tourists, and other parts of the city are requesting that heritage trolleys be extended to their neighborhoods as well.
Some of the major benefits of Streetcars are their smaller size and lighter weight (modern streetcars are 8 ft wide and 66 ft long). The smaller size allows Streetcar lines to be completed faster, which reduces the impact to the surrounding neighborhoods and nearby businesses.