In a letter to the New Era posted Oct. 25, Alan W. Bixby disclosed that “some years ago” he operated trolleys for what has become SEPTA (South Eastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) and explains why trolleys are dangerous and how they obstruct traffic. Bixby says “Problems that arise from light-rail service are accidents from people boarding […]

Below are two photos of the street car on display at the intersection of Prince and Chestnut Streets and described by Mayor Rick Gray as “Public Art.” Gray is an exponent of bringing trolley cars back to Lancaster Streets. In “A City Transformed”, author David Schuyler looks back to the first half of the 20th […]

On Sept. 19, NewsLanc interviewed Berwood A. Yost, Director of the Center For Opinion Research at Franklin & Marshall College, about the “Streetcar Ridership Survey” reported in the July 1, 2007, Lancaster Sunday News. Backers of a streetcar system for downtown Lancaster have cited this survey as indicating community support for such a project. Further, […]

The following is from the Lancaster County Planning Commission – Master Planner Course, Debora S. Mengoni, October 25, 2007: “At the top of the list of Curitiba’s (Brazil) achievements is the Bus Rapid Transit system. The city was given Federal money to build a subway, but Lerner discovered that ‘heavy rail’ like a subway costs […]

The Sunday News article “City trolley put on slow track fails to get federal funding; not all on board with present plan” is hardly reason to celebrate. How often did we hear that the Convention Center / Hotel Project was dead just to have it be re-born at still greater tax payer expense? The private […]

On LancasterOnLine.com, a contributor who self identifies as a driver “for the Historic Downtown Trolley (a bus in another costume)” states that there are only about 25 passengers a day and that most of them are “the original passengers from 4 years ago.” (Editor’s note: Terry Dohl identified himself as the driver in a “In […]

Editor’s note: The following article appeared on July 7, 2007. According to a communication of Sept. 3rd from Berwood Yost of the Center for Opinion Research, Dr. [Terry] Madonna did not participate in the design, administration, or analysis of the survey.” F&M is a member of the Lancaster Alliance and a prime contributor. F&M president […]

According a news article in the Aug. 21 Intelligencer Journal, Red Rose Transit Authority (RRTA) will offer a $.25 fare rate on all buses for the month of September. It’s executive director, Dave Kilmer explained “We want the community to have a chance to try RRTA as a part of their daily commute …” Perhaps […]

This is a first of a series of articles based upon “A City Transformed; Redevelopment, Race, and Suburbanization in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 1940 – 1980” by Franklin & Marshall historian David Schuyler. In referring to effect of the Housing Act of 1949, Schuyler quotes Judith Martin and Antony Goddard as observing , in reference to Minneapolis […]

In response to inquiries from NewsLanc, we received report from Virginia Fry, River Rail Streetcar, Little Rock, Arkansas. Note that almost 75% of their cost are subsidized by federal and local tax payer dollars, despite the average charge of $1.00 per rider! Despite the huge subsidy and five street cars clogging busy streets, they only […]

Jack Howell, president of the Lancaster Alliance and board secretary of the Streetcar Company, says that fares on the proposed trolley system will be voluntary. Although we believe street cars are a bad idea, voluntary fares is a good one and echoes NewsLanc‘s suggestion for the trolley buses. But there will be nothing free for […]

As indicated in the two photos of street cars in Budapest, Hungary, trolley cars can be an effective means of transportation when run in their own exclusive lanes. The street shown is the equivalent of eight lanes: two lanes for vehicle parking, one in each direction; four lanes for vehicle movements, two in each direction; […]

The September 9th Sunday News ran a long article extolling the virtues of bringing trolley cars (they call them “street cars”) back to Lancaster. The article is available here. NewsLanc comments on the article’s assertions: 1) The formation of the Lancaster Street Car Co., a Pennsylvania nonprofit corporation, is recognition that no “for profit” company […]