COMMUNITY SUPPORT NEEDED

Prior to Hurricane Ike, Galveston Island Trolley operated at an annual net loss exceeding $500,000! In large part, this was caused by declining ridership numbers that resulted from Galveston’s population center shifting and growing from the east end of the island to the central and west end of the island. Combined with an existing trolley system that only served the downtown and east end of the island, the City of Galveston found itself at a crossroads— either repair the existing trolleys, and improve and expand the system to increase coverage; or rip out the existing tracks and repay the Federal Transit Authority $7.5 million in grants that were used to restart the heritage streetcar system in 2008.

Members of the community were in favor of restoring the damaged rail cars and buying rubber wheel trolleys to move more people and tourists around the island. With this expanded system in place, residents and visitors alike can now park their car on one end of the island and ride the trolleys from Stewart Beach to the east, through downtown, and to Moody Gardens and Schlitterbahn to the west.

Even with the improved and expanded services, Galveston Island Trolley still needs the community’s help in offsetting the expenses associated with operating the historic system. They hope to do this by offering ridership fees at very affordable rates, utilizing the trolleys and busses as moving advertising mediums, and by offering the trolleys for public events & wedding rentals.