Hop on, hop off

Free weekend trolley service links downtown entertainment districts

Downtown is booming. Once again it is the cultural center of Tulsa and has a higher concentration of things to do than anywhere else in town. Downtown’s three major districts (Deco, Blue Dome, and Brady Arts) are walkable areas with plenty to see and do, but each is an island unto itself, with great oceans of surface parking dividing one from another. The Vault and Guthrie Green, for example, are nearly a mile apart, a hefty walk when you’re full of chicken and waffles (or vodka and soda, for that matter), especially for the average always-drives-everywhere-no-matter-how-close Tulsan. And with everyone driving, parking downtown has become a more competitive and time-consuming process. 

Fortunately, there’s a better way. For the past two years, Tulsa Downtown Trolley has shuttled folks around downtown every weekend, free of charge. Beginning in 2012 with a route that connected destinations in the Brady Arts District to nearby parking garages, the route soon expanded to more downtown hotspots and now extends from Cameron Street to 6th Street and Cheyenne Ave. to Elgin Ave.—and sometimes farther to accommodate BOK Center events and street closings. The trolley runs Friday and Saturday nights from 5:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. (though it has been known to run right up until the bars close.) The drivers are friendly and eager to help people get around, going as far as to call out to nearby pedestrians who look lost or tired to offer a free ride. 

The rides remain free through corporate sponsorships from the George Kaiser Family Foundation, the BOK Center, the Downtown Coordinating Council, Tulsa Regional Chamber, Brady Arts District Owners Association and the Route 66 Marathon. Many restaurants, hotels and other businesses on the trolley’s route also contribute monthly to help keep the trolley running. 

“We’re always looking for [more] corporate sponsors to help out with this,” said TDT Chairman Bob Fleischman. “People that believe in helping to develop downtown.”

Fleischman estimated the trolley has shuttled more than 21,000 patrons in less than two years. Those riders have been people of all walks: families and barflies, visitors and locals alike. 

“During the early hours, you would see families just waiting to get on to the trolley as an amusement,” Fleischman said. “It’s a fun little ride. It takes about a half hour and it’s a fun way to start off the evening and maybe spend a little time at Guthrie Green. And then as the night goes on, the crowd evolves and develops.” 

Downtown residents have also discovered the trolley. 

“People who live downtown know that it’s available, so on the weekend if they want to go to dinner or to a bar, they don’t have to get in a car or hire a taxi,” Fleischman said. “They can just hop on the trolley.” 

A recent editorial in the Tulsa World was dedicated to downtown Tulsa’s need for a trolley, given Oklahoma City’s recently approved $130 million streetcar system project. “I wrote him, saying downtown Tulsa has had a trolley for two years,” said Fleischman. “Of course, that letter didn’t make it into the newspaper.” 

Sure, TDT isn’t the all-day-every-day electric rail line of Casey Jones’ dreams, but our city government can be stubborn, and TDT can fill the need for a trolley while the city stews on the idea, and also prove the growing demand for trolley service downtown.

“Our biggest thing is just trying to get more people to know that we’re here,” Fleischman said. Now that you know, try it once and you’ll wonder why you ever drove from Mod’s to Valkyrie.

More information on Tulsa Downtown Trolley can be found at trolleymap.com. Up-to-date information, including route changes, can be found at facebook.com/TulsaDowntownTrolley.