Photo by Colton McKee

By Hayley Ferguson

Sunshine Trolley

Tourism trolley hits the road

Sep 13, 2019 | 5:31 PM

Medicine Hat, AB – There’s a new way to get around the gas city.

Tourism Medicine Hat’s “Sunshine Trolley” is hitting the road this week connecting all the major tourist stops around the city.

Michael Harrington, the chair of the board with tourism, says this will be a way for people to hop-on and hop-off at the different places like their information centre, Medalta, and downtown.

“I think it’s really great. I think it hearkens back to an earlier era. It’s super convenient and I think that convenience is only going to make people get out and explore our community more.” He said.

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Starting next Wednesday, the plan is to operate the trolley on a regular schedule from May through October.

According to Abby Czibere with tourism, they will be adjusting that for special events like markets, concerts, and tours.

“We’ve got a couple of tours planned already on the trolley. It’s going to be pretty amazing. But it just adds to the whole atmosphere of the trolley and the city.” She said. “We’ve got a breweries tour planned on October 5th that is open to the public. You’ll get to ride on the trolley. Of course, the poutine crawl that is coming up soon.”

Trolley hits the streets of Medicine Hat

Tourism is hoping it won’t just be visitors using the trolley.

They are encouraging residents to hop on board and take the chance to explore their own city a little more.

“I think it’s just fun for people to have a little bit more excitement about their community and then they go to and use it too. When you’ve got visitors around, or friends in town you can go for a trolley ride and show them what we love about our city.” Said Czibere.

Harrington, who also owns a business downtown, thinks that will happen.

“I think it’s important that we view our community through a different lens from time to time and treat it like we’re tourists. The staycation phenomenon. I think it would help people discover more things about their community.” He said.

Harrington used Medalta as an example.

“Medalta is incredible. But it’s amazing how many people have never done a Medalta tour. So I think it gives you a different perspective on our community, helps you fall in love with your community, and just allows you to see it through a different lens like somebody who doesn’t live here.”

To help encourage people to give the trolley a try, Medalta is offering free museum passes to anyone who uses the trolley to get there for the first six weeks.