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San Jose, Calif.– The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s (VTA) historic trolleys will be enhancing downtown San Jose festivities during the holidays.

Restored historic trolley Car 2001, featuring brightly colored green paint, and shiny hand polished wooden interiors will carry passengers with turn-of-the-century style. The historic trolley service provides a jovial method of traveling downtown during Christmas in the Park held annually at Plaza de Cesar Chavez and Downtown Ice at the Circle of Palms.

Service will begin Saturday, Nov. 25, through Saturday, Dec. 30, 2006.  The trolley will operate at 60 minute intervals between Civic Center and the Diridon Station (weather permitting) on Saturdays only, from 2:30 pm. to 10 p.m.  The closest stop to access the holiday activities is the Paseo de San Antonio Station on First Street.

Take VTA Light Rail or Buses downtown to connect to the service. Single-ride fares of $1.75 for adults, $1.50 for youths and $.75 for seniors and disabled passengers will be charged on historic trolleys. Passengers can also use an excursion pass, good for all their trips within 8-hours while downtown.

The historic trolleys were pioneers of modern-day public transportation. When $750 would buy a house and a newspaper cost only five cents, trolleys were state-of-the-art transit. From the late 1880’s to the late 1930’s, electric trolleys operated in San Jose, Santa Clara and throughout the county—on nearly 130 miles of track at the peak of the era. The birth of bus and automobile travel temporarily brought an end to local trolley service.

VTA maintains six restored trolleys with the support of the California Trolley and Railroad Corporation, a non-profit composed of local businesses and community volunteers. Restoration volunteers have completed more than 90,000 hours of work at the Trolley Barn where the cars are housed. The Trolley Barn is located at the San Jose Historical Museum in Kelley Park.

The historic trolleys are also available to rent for special occasions such as weddings, receptions, birthdays, company events, or just for fun. For more information on historic trolley rentals contact Markly Machado at markly.machado@vta.org or call (408) 321-7527. For additional information on bus, light rail, and historic trolleys, please contact VTA Customer Service at (408) 321-2300, TDD only (408) 321-2330.

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About VTA
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is an independent special district responsible for bus, light rail and paratransit operations; congestion management; specific highway improvement projects; and countywide transportation planning. As such, VTA is both an accessible transit provider and multi-modal transportation planning organization involved with transit, highways and roadways, bikeways and pedestrian facilities.

For more information about VTA services, call VTA Customer Service at (408) 321-2300, (408) 321-2330 (TDD only). Or, log on to www.vta.org.