Dana Point’s Free Trolley - Bigger and Better

Who doesn’t love our little beach town in summer? Lying on the sand, listening to the soothing sound of the ocean and soaking up the warm sun. So relaxing. After a day on the beach, there’s plenty of places to buy fun souvenirs and eat great food. If only it didn’t come with the traffic. And the parking! Don’t get me started on the parking. Well, if you don’t already know about it, Dana Point Trolley gets you around town and eliminates the parking frustration. It’s free and it’s fun. This summer, thanks to additional grant money, Dana Point's Trolley system will be connecting you with more South Orange County cities.

Dana Point’s experiment with the Trolley program started in 2014 when OCTA awarded the City nearly $2,500,000 in grant money to fund trolleys serving PCH, Dana Point Harbor and some special event trolleys. Running weekends only, the Trolley served nearly 22,000 passengers during the 2015 summer. Just one year later, in the summer of 2016, that number grew to over 86,000 passengers. By 2017, ridership totaled nearly 89,000. Even with the elimination of several special events in the City last year, those numbers held steady.

When OCTA announced the availability of additional grant money in February 2018, Dana Point wasted no time applying. Just for months later, OCTA told Dana Point it received the highest score of all the applicants and approved the City for the nearly $1.8 million Dana Point had requested. The new grant money allows Dana Point to extend the Trolley season and assure the continuation of the Trolley program through June 30, 2024.

Dana Point already serves as the South County trolley system hub. This summer, the Dana Point Trolley will connect to the Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel, San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente trolley systems. Dana Point does not intend to stop here. On the contrary, the City is eager to explore Trolley expansion in future years. Plans include establishing more connection points for seamless transit between the South OC cities, adding Rancho Mission Viejo and others to the hub and providing a convenient travel option for the community in light of the recent loss of OCTA bus services in the area.

While in Dana Point this summer, get out of your car and enjoy riding the free trolley. Download Dana Point Trolley app on your phone and monitor the routes and progress of the trolleys with Shuttle Tracker. More information on the Dana Point Trolley and schedules are available at https://bit.ly/2TyhNPh.