Monday is the 25th anniversary of Fort Lauderdale’s Sun Trolley system, and the celebration promises to be a multi-sensory experience.
The eye-catching red-and-yellow trolleys run on eight routes through Fort Lauderdale, taking riders to the beach, shopping and work. By the end of the month, they'll have a new app and website to make seeing routes and tracking transit easier.
And Robyn Chiarelli, executive director of the Downtown Fort Lauderdale Transportation Management Association, says the four new trolleys the TMA's getting around the anniversary also have a distinctive "new Sun Trolley" scent and feel.
"When you get onto one of our shiny new trolleys, you can smell that pure wood smell, you can feel the brass and it’s clean and cold on your hands," she says. "All of our trolleys, the classic American trolleys, are very unique and nostalgic."
Sun Trolley started in 1992 to help reduce traffic and connect commuters to Tri-Rail and Broward County transit. Today, Chiarelli says more than 40,000 people use it each month. Many are commuters or tourists; others are retirees who rely on Sun Trolley for things like grocery shopping and time with friends.
"It gets them out into the community," Chiarelli says. "This is a lifeline."
Some of the most loyal riders and employees will be profiled for the anniversary, and everyone will be able to get a taste of the festivities: Chiarelli says while supplies last, the trolleys will have 25-pound buckets of candy.
And how does hearing fit into all this?
Well... you heard it here.
Sun Trolley also operates a fleet of buses; Chiarelli says three new buses will be added this summer.
