During Lancaster City’s monthly Arts and Culture celebration popularly known as First Friday, the First Friday Trolley is a special fixture you can encounter and experience downtown.
It is a free open air trolley and runs from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on First Fridays during the months of May to October, providing a fun additional mode of transportation to key hotspots, which are also in walking distance of each other.
The First Friday Trolley was first piloted in 2023 and is continuing for a second year in 2024. Riders are able to enjoy the numerous First Friday activities and hop on and off at destinations within the City such as Ewell Plaza, Gallery Row, the Ware Center and Southern Market.
I tried the trolley in August and here are some of my observations.
First of all, it is an experience, as the charming First Friday Trolley blends in well with Lancaster’s historic downtown buildings.
Secondly, it runs relatively frequently in a continuous loop throughout downtown. During my trip, it took us 27 minutes to complete a full loop. Furthermore, the exact location of the trolley can be tracked through Trolley Tracker on the Visit Lancaster City App.
Conceptually, Lancaster’s First Friday Trolley is a small and time-limited version of “circulator” concepts found in cities like Philadelphia and Baltimore.
The Philly Phlash is a seasonal service in Philadelphia which runs every 15 minutes on service days. In Baltimore, the Charm City Circulator runs every 15 to 25 minutes.
What they have in common is firstly, frequency and secondly, they are inexpensive ways to explore the respective cities, ranging from free to up to $2 per ride.
In my opinion, it would be interesting to see how the learnings and experiences of the First Friday Trolley combined with studying circulator concepts implemented in other cities could benefit Lancaster.
I am also curious to understand if this circulator concept could be turned into something more sustainable in the longer run that could benefit Lancaster’s local economic development.
It could provide both residents and visitors more transportation alternatives and convenience.
Bryant Heng is a Bloomberg Harvard City Hall Fellow studying how Lancaster City can make transportation better. Learn more here.
