The Yorktown Trolley, a free trolley system that runs through the historic village, was recently recognized for its talking bus system by the National Association of Counties.
The system, which was installed in the fleet of trolleys in 2013, tracks the trolley’s location and automatically makes audible and visual stop announcements at the appropriate location, according to a York County news release.
The system uses internal and external speakers and destination signs to alert passengers when it reaches certain points in the village.
Each of the three trolleys is set up with televisions that show images and historic information at each stop, which adds to the extensive knowledge each trolley driver has of the area.
“It has vastly improved the overall safety program of our trolleys, as drivers are able to focus their attention on safe driving habits rather than making repetitive announcements,” County Administrator James McReynolds said in a news release on the NACo awards website.
He said the talking system had made the trolley service more accessible to those with sight or hearing disabilities.
The system has been well received by the community and by tourists, according to Darren Williams, operations coordinator for the Yorktown Waterfront Group.
“It’s been fantastic,” he said. “It’s a new piece of technology mixed in with our historical information.”
The Yorktown Trolley service transports nearly 100,000 passengers each season, according to the release.
Now in its 13th year, the trolley stops at nine locations in Yorktown every 20 to 25 minutes, and runs daily from April to November.
