When you see Fort Lauderdale’s new free downtown transportation, you might do a double take: It could be a bus masquerading as a trolley.
It’ll have bigger windows and a boxier shape more typical of a standard bus. It’ll also include a cupola, bell and design finishes typical of a trolley.
The trolley-style bus also is more fuel efficient and has lower maintenance costs, officials say.
Modern-day trolleys are basically “gussied up” buses, said Diane Colonna, director of Delray Beach’s Community Redevelopment Agency, which has been running its own fleet of trolleys along Atlantic Avenue for almost a year.
The older-style trolleys can’t meet current handicapped-access regulations and fuel-efficiency standards, she said.