From Trolley Tours to Cheap Transportation

By Jacqueline Sit, NEWS 9

GUTHRIE, Okla. -- A one of a kind vehicle was used to take visitors on tours in the city of Guthrie, but with the tough economic times, the trolley in town is going beyond downtown.

To this day, a few of trolleys are still taking hundreds of people on tours of Guthrie, but since there are so many passengers using them, the company has resorted to using minivans to take people around.

There has been an increase of 12,000 more passengers riding the trolley service. A majority of the riders are driven to work, to school, the doctors' office or to the grocery store.

With the tough economic times, including food and fuel prices, many are taking advantage of the inexpensive service.

"I think people were staying closer to home, and our routes increased. And when the fuel dropped, we were worried they'd drop, but they didn't, they stayed steady this whole time," First Capital Trolley Transportation Director Melissa Fesler said.

The service costs about $3 per person each time, so it's easy to see why there's such a major increase in ridership.