Trolley Services in Ventura County and Surrounding Areas
/
Trolley seen around town in Westlake Village
The term "trolley" is derived from a grooved conductive wheel attached to a pole that "trolls," or pulls along, an overhead wire to transfer electricity to a streetcar. The first large-scale trolley line in the world, the Richmond Union Passenger Railway, was a 12 mile system that opened on February 12, 1888 in Richmond, Virginia. This trolley service operated until November 25, 1949.
You don't see many trolley buses anymore (San Francisco's historic streetcars are a well known exception), but here in Ventura County and adjacent areas we do have some electric trolleys in operation!
Camarillo: The City of Camarillo provides trolley service seven days a week, with 10 stops at various shopping centers in town in a 30 minute cycle. Fare price is $1 for adults and students, $.50 for seniors and ADA riders.
Ojai: The City of Ojai's Ojai Trolley Service has operated since 1989, providing low cost fixed route service with 45 stops over roughly five miles in Ojai, Meiners Oaks and Mira Monte.
Calabasas: Just east of us, City of Calabasas offers free trolley service on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 24 stops at various shopping and other venues.
Santa Barbara: The Santa Barbara Trolley Company is a commercial service that provides trolley tours to some of the area's great tourist venues Thursday to Monday.
Trolleys No More:
Ventura: The Downtown Ventura-Harbor Trolley provided year-round free service to local shopping, tourist and hotel locations over an hour-long route, Wednesday through Sunday…until it closed operations at the end of March 2019.
Westlake Village: Previously provided a free trolley service on Fr/Sat nights during certain seasonal time frames in 2019. Program has been on hiatus since then but has been under consideration. Could be reinstated at some point; visit www.wlv.org for updates.
