If you attended this year’s People’s Coast Summit, you heard from our panelists about one of the most persistent challenges across the Oregon Coast: transportation. From parking pressures to seasonal congestion to the need for low-impact ways to move both locals and visitors, coastal communities are searching for solutions that support livability and a thriving visitor economy.
One of the brightest recent examples of that innovation just landed in Yachats.
This week, a gleaming green-and-white hybrid trolley arrived in town—fresh from its custom build in Wisconsin and ready to begin a new chapter on the central coast. This 14-seat, wheelchair-accessible, bike-friendly trolley will soon be a familiar sight rolling between Beachside State Park and Cape Perpetua, offering free rides Thursday through Sunday all summer long, and during special events throughout the year.
For Yachats City Manager Bobbi Price, seeing the trolley pull up to City Hall under a November sky was the culmination of more than three years of work and persistence.
Price first launched the idea while serving as director of the Yachats Area Chamber of Commerce, inspired by a similar trolley operating in Pacific City. From the earliest community surveys to the ups and downs of funding, she stayed committed to a vision she believed would benefit both residents and visitors: easing congestion, reducing the environmental footprint of summer travel, and creating a memorable, welcoming experience for travelers exploring the town and nearby natural areas.
The trolley’s purchase was made possible through a patchwork of partners—including $100,000 from Travel Oregon and $100,000 from the Oregon Coast Visitors Association—along with contributions from the Yachats Area Chamber of Commerce and the city’s lodging tax revenues. First Student will provide drivers, maintenance, and storage, while the city council has committed to annual operating costs that came in significantly lower than anticipated.
Built with both charm and practicality, the trolley includes a bike rack, a wheelchair lift, and large windows that showcase the coast in any weather. But more importantly, it serves a clear purpose: it is a destination-management tool as much as a transportation option.
In surveys conducted by OCVA, coastal residents and visitors repeatedly identified the need for more “micro-transportation” options—short-distance, low-impact ways to move between trailheads, downtowns, lodging, and recreation sites without adding to congested roadways. Yachats’ new trolley answers that call directly.
Tourism is a lifeline for Yachats, helping fund essential city services, parks, and infrastructure. But as we heard so clearly at the Summit, tourism must be approached through a lens of stewardship and community benefit. Projects like this are a testement to patience and a lot of community collaboration to bring a vision to life.
Transportation solutions like the Yachats trolley are essential to the long-term health of coastal communities. When we invest in mobility—safer ways to move around, greener options that reduce congestion, and systems that work for locals first—we strengthen the backbone of our visitor economy. We create towns that feel good to live in and inviting to explore. And ultimately, we build a more resilient, sustainable future for the Oregon Coast.