Have a happy anniversary, Jolley Trolley! Pass the cake
Slices of the sweet confection will complement slashed prices Wednesday, marking 10 years at the helm.
By CONNIE JONES
Published January 2, 2004
CLEARWATER - The bright red and yellow Jolley Trolley bus on the beach and in downtown Clearwater will be celebrating an anniversary of sorts on Wednesday with free cake and cut-rate rides.
Rides, normally $1 for adults and 50 cents for seniors, will be 25 cents all day for all passengers. Children younger than 3 ride free any time. Between 1 and 3 p.m. Wednesday, riders will also be treated to free cake.
Although celebrating 10 years in operation under current management, the trolley has a longer history.
"In 1981 or '82, the Clearwater Beach Association convinced the city and Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority to agree to put a trolley on the beach," said Bill Kirbas, president of the Jolley Trolley Corp.
"We started with two trolleys rented from PSTA for $1 a year. I guess we had those for six of the 10 years, but we no longer have those. We've turned those back in and purchased our own."
According to Kirbas, there are now nine trolleys, four of which run daily on the two routes. The remaining trolleys may be chartered for weddings, corporate parties, to see Christmas lights or just about any other reason, Kirbas said.
For an average cost of $90 to $100 per hour, the chartered trolleys can take passengers as far as Hillsborough, Sarasota and Hernando counties.
Kirbas said former City Commissioner Fred Thomas convinced the commission and the PSTA to hand over management and operation of the trolley to a group of citizens from the beach community associations, which took control on Jan. 1, 1994.
Although the trolleys have been around for more than 20 years, next week marks the 10th anniversary of the new management, Jolley Trolley Transportation of Clearwater Inc., also known as the Jolley Trolley Corp.
Kirbas said the trolleys, which have transported approximately 1.7-million visitors and residents over the decade, cost $538,000 a year to operate. Sixty percent of that funding comes from the city of Clearwater; the remaining 40 percent is generated by the trolleys, he said.
The trolleys are vital to tourism, Kirbas said.
"It gives (tourists) something to do and gives them the opportunity to learn more about the area," Kirbas said. "Our philosophy is to have people identify the trolley with Clearwater and Clearwater with the trolley."
City Commissioner Hoyt Hamilton, whose family owns the Palm Pavilion and the Palm Pavilion Inn on the beach, agrees that it's important to tourism.
"I think the trolleys provide a very unique and interesting option for local transportation, especially for the tourist industry," Hamilton said. "It's a great mode of transportation for the beach. It's a fun way for the tourists to see the island and Clearwater Beach ... and all the different aspects the city has to offer."
Trolley tours, which take 35 minutes to an hour round trip, are not narrated, but Kirbas said narrated tours are available upon request.
Trolley drivers, in their multicolored floral Hawaiian-style shirts and off-white pith helmets, are just as colorful as the trolleys.
Driver Ed Murphy of Largo, who will turn 72 on Jan. 13, has driven a trolley for four years and has met people from all over the world.
"It's a fun job," Murphy said. "I make it fun by kidding the people."
Tourists and locals alike say they enjoy riding on the padded black seats under the beautiful oak ceiling.
It was a first-time experience for Joe and Melissa Capezzuto and daughter Megan on a recent visit from Rochester, N.Y.
"I like it because we're able to see areas we couldn't see just by walking around," Joe Capezzuto said.
"And it's comfortable," added Melissa Capezzuto as her brown hair blew in the warm breeze sweeping through the trolley.
Clearwater Beach resident Chad Barlow, 20, who just moved here from Michigan three weeks ago, loves the trolley, too. It takes him to work at the Waterfront Restaurant and back home.
"It's like riding a convertible," Barlow said, "and you get to meet some nice people, even if it's just the driver. I'm not working today; I'm just riding it to hang out at the beach and see what's going on."
If you go
The Jolley Trolley's 10th anniversary will be celebrated with free cake for passengers from 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesday. The trolley runs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily between Clearwater Beach and downtown Clearwater. Cost is 25 cents all day Jan. 7. Otherwise, it's $1 for adults, 50 cents for senior citizens. Children under 3 are free any time. Call 445-1200 or visit www.thejolleytrolley.com
