Riverside Avondale Night Trolley

Alex & Heather Bailey of OutsidetheDen.com share their experience of the Riverside AvondaleNight Trolley

Alex: It is often said that one of the most pressing issues in Jacksonville is a lack of solid public transportation. Without a reliable bus or rail system to get us where we need to go without all the stress and worry of parking and driving, it is difficult to plan a relaxing evening that hits all the hot spots. Fortunately in Riverside and Avondale, JTA has listened to the efforts of Riverside Avondale Preservation, area merchants, and countless volunteers, and JTA is now experimenting with bringing back the Riverside Avondale Night Trolley, which was the best way to travel in the evenings from places like the Shoppes of Avondale to the King St Brewing District to 5 Points and then back again!



These three jolly green night trolleys run late into the night, so there’s no rush to close out and leave before you are ready. We had a lot of fun riding on our little excursion from Intuition to make it to happy hour at Orsay for a bite to eat. It was a pretty chilly night, so it was great when we saw the trolley rolling around the bend to pick us up. We both had the all night four dollar pass, which is much less of a headache than having to dig for exact change for a single one-way ticket. One wave of the ticket, and we were ready to go. All of the buses are equipped with comfy wooden bench seats with plenty of room to stretch out if you felt the urge.



Heather: Can we take a minute to talk about just how awesome the GPS trolley app is? A huge thanks to Dylan Phillips for this fantastic app. We were able to stay warm inside our various stops because we knew right when the trolley was going to be where we needed it. And let’s be honest, it’s just fun to watch the little graphic trolleys move around.

Where did we see the most traffic? Intuition Ale Works and 5 Points!



Alex: There were plenty of other people riding the trolley, so it was a great time to greet some old friends and make a few new ones on the trip. All throughout the night, everyone was having a great time. It was amazing to watch the trolley go from almost empty to standing room only. We learned that there is always room for one more! Be sure to pull the cord that runs down the side of the trolley to request the stop, otherwise you’ll be riding that trolley all night!



The mission of the trolley is not just to provide safe and reliable transportation on the weekends when we need it most, though that is certainly part of it. By using more mass transportation we can unclog some of our streets, with less cars on the road, there is less pollution, less accidents, and more of a sense of shared community than if we all rode around in our own little bubble. As of now, this is still only a trial run (until June) to demonstrate how much this system is needed in our area now that it is becoming one of the fastest growing parts of Jacksonville. If you ride the trolley during this time, you’re ensuring not only that you’ll have a cheap and effective means of transportation then, but in the future as well.





Heather: Be sure to grab your pass in advance. We are going to be buying enough to last us until June! We can’t convey enough how easy this was, and how fantastic it is to not have to worry who is going to be the designated driver for the evening. We used the trolley on both Friday and Saturday, and ended up having a second dinner with some friends because we happened to hop on the same trolley they were on!



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Alex and Heather Bailey

Alex is a Florida native who grew up with fresh citrus and love bugs. He always imagined himself as a terrible Southerner, but a halfway decent Floridian. He knows that no matter how a day goes, it begins and ends with beauty. Originally from Texas, Heather has lived throughout the East Coast and is happy to now call Jacksonville home. She is a firm believer in Thoreau’s advice of “Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.”  Both graduates of history at the University of North Florida, they share a love of finding the story beneath the story. Together they created the blog Outside The Den where they inspire others to get outside of their comfort zones through culinary adventures, cultural explorations, community happenings, and natural wonders.

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