Business & Tech

Ride the Jolley Trolley Through Quaint North Pinellas Towns

The new extension service stops in Dunedin, Palm Harbor and Tarpon Springs.

Jackie Hesdorff is taking her first ride on the Clearwater Jolley Trolley’s new extension service.

The trolley passes through Dunedin, and, as it rolls into downtown Clearwater, the Tarpon Springs resident is full of questions:

What route is the trolley taking? Where does it stop? How close to Clearwater Beach does it go?

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

The trolley car crosses the Clearwater Memorial Causeway and the open, blue expanse of the Clearwater Beach and the Intracoastal Waterway takes the 70-year-old back.   

“Look at the view. Imagine if you were from Chicago or Phoenix or somewhere,” Hesdorff said.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

It’s a moment of joy on the new service that circles from the Tarpon Springs sponge docks, through Palm Harbor and Dunedin to Island Estates Plaza in Clearwater via downtown Clearwater.

“It offers more to the area,” Hesdorff said, who no longer owns a vehicle. “It offers more to residents like myself.”

The service extension received widespread support from governments and businesses, said Bob Longenecker, executive director of the Jolley Trolley. Twenty-three elected officials from participating municipalities or the Pinellas County government voted in favor of the new line, he said, as a way to spur commerce.

“It gives businesses in Dunedin, Palm Harbor and Tarpon Springs access to [Clearwater’s] high-density visitors,” he said. “It’s got to be a plus for the community.”

The new line started Nov. 19 and follows the PSTA bus route. The price tag for running the extension is about $265,000 a year. Each town pays a portion, which is matched by the PSTA. The remaining money comes in from advertising and fares.

Riders and downtown business owners along the extension route feel optimistic that it will bring more business into their areas.

“I personally think it’s the best thing to ever happen to downtown,” said Kathy Carlson, co-owner of The Chic-a-Boom Room, Blur Nightclub and Kelly’s in Dunedin.

“We’ve had people come in who didn’t know we were there,” Jesse Lane said, referring to the Strachan’s Homemade Ice Cream in Palm Harbor. Lane has worked there since 2008. The ice cream shop also has a Dunedin location.

Lane grew up in Tarpon Springs.  He  remembers a trolley service that ran through town when he was young, but it eventually failed as a Tarpon-specific route. The new trolley extension through north Pinellas, Lane said, is good for “sightseeing alone, because people might not have seen all the little quiet, tiny towns.”

Longenecker said the new route is expected to attract about 20,000 to 25,000 riders its first year. The trolley’s North and South Clearwater Beach line attracts about 140,000 riders a year. He predicts that the trolley extension service will be beyond capacity come March and April when spring break and spring training are in full swing.

Plan to visit north Pinellas?

The extension service travels hourly along PSTA routes from Island Estates Plaza in Clearwater to the Tarpon Springs sponge docks.

When: It runs Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to midnight and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Where: The trolley stops in downtown Dunedin, downtown Palm Harbor, downtown Tarpon Springs and at the sponge docks. The stops are designated, but unmarked. Unofficially, drivers will make an effort to stop anywhere along the line that they’re being waved down. You can also catch it at any PSTA bus stop.

Cost: Day passes are available for $4.50 and can be purchased with cash aboard the trolley. Weekly and monthly passes are also available. Trolley and PSTA passes are interchangeable.

More info: Click Clearwater Jolley Trolley for a map and price list.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here