A popular Rapid City attraction could be returning to the streets

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - In 2007 Rapid City purchased two trolleys for city tours and another one in 2009. The three trolleys took guests on a tour of the city, making 15 stops within its route. But tours came to a stop in 2020 due to the pandemic, then resumed in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, but were cut short due to staffing issues.

On March 29 the city’s legal and finance committee will discuss the future of these trolleys. Although it is not confirmed, Visit Rapid City would like to purchase the trolleys from the city and rent spaces from the city to store them.

“We were approached by Visit Rapid City and so we want to take that to the committee. They’ve kind of ironed out their details to their plan. We had to seek federal transit authority approval, even if it’s just a possible agreement we need to get that sign off by the FTA,” said Darrell Shoemaker, communication coordinator for Rapid City.

Visit Rapid City is a nonprofit corporation that promotes the economic growth of Rapid City and showcases the city as a tourist destination.

“We’re pretty much confined to when we can operate it, how we can operate it. If it’s being operated by Visit Rapid City, they have some more flexibility about what they can offer both our visitors and our residents alike,” said Shoemaker.

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