Trolleys built Charlotte's earliest neighborhoods—moving people around town and bringing neighbors together daily in their community.  Today, Charlotte Trolley, Inc., a volunteer-driven non-profit, continues to bring people together as neighbors, to connect with history, learn and have fun on Charlotte's favorite mode of transportation.

In conjunction with restoring vintage electric streetcars, CTI has developed a museum devoted to the history of streetcars in the South, and an educational program focusing on “change in our community.” The region's public and private school teachers use Charlotte Trolley as a one-of-a-kind resource for teaching neighborhood development, map reading, transportation, and civic awareness. Learn more about School Tours

CTI’s Partnership with the City of Charlotte: Economic Development Meets Public Transit

In June, 1998, the Charlotte City Council allocated $16.7 million in public funds to create a two-mile rail transit corridor through Uptown Charlotte and Historic South End which would accommodate both vintage trolley and eventually light rail transit. Trolley proponents believed this investment would stimulate economic development along the corridor, and that property tax values would be high enough to repay the investment in eight years. In fact, it took only four years, and the City's investment paid off even before the Uptown component of the trolley line was established. Since the creation of the Historic South End Municipal Service District in 2001, property values in the corridor have increased by 89.6%. Today, more than $600 million in private funds have been invested in the development of over 800,000 square feet of space along South End's trolley corridor. In the Fall of 2007, the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) will offer trolley and light rail service along this corridor, leading to even greater levels of development, and connecting Uptown and South End even more closely.

Service to the Community

Charlotte Trolley, Inc. was incorporated as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization in 1988. Since 1996, Charlotte Trolley volunteers have provided an estimated 14,500 hours of service to our community - motoring trolleys, interpreting history and architecture, restoring trolley cars, coordinating school groups and special events, manning the Gift Shop, and performing administrative tasks. Learn more about volunteering at Charlotte Trolley