Business Monday: Kona Trolley returns to Kailua Village just in time for Ironman World Championship

The Kona Trolley has again returned to Kailua Village, but this time in vintage style and with modern technology.

The open-air trolley with brown wooden seats was purchased from Savannah Trolley Tours in Georgia.

“I spent almost as much to ship her here as I did to purchase it,” said Tania Cyrlin, president of Island RV, the private company that owns and operates the trolley. She didn’t disclose how much she paid for the trolley.

But Cyrlin, who also operates Clark’s Hawai‘i Tours, said she was approached by the Historic Kailua Village Business Improvement District to bring back the trolley.

“They were just looking for partners and reached out to us,” Cyrlin said. “I was looking to pivot to bring us more into transportation, not just tours.”

The newly launched Kona Trolley is entirely cashless, with passes purchased online. It travels along a continuous 1-mile village loop in real time and runs one loop an hour.

Complaints about the old trolley included that it was often late. But just like on rideshare apps, riders can track the new trolley’s location.

The private transportation company Robert’s Hawai‘i initially ran the Kona Trolley. After it was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the trolley was relaunched by Hawai‘i County in 2021 as part of its Hele-On public transportation system, specifically to carry passengers around Kailua Village.

Around that same time, the county entered into an agreement with Roberts Hawaiʻi to operate the county’s public Hele-On transit system, which included the trolley. The cost to ride the trolley was free.

Hawai‘i County Mayor Kimo Alameda said the Kona Trolley was discontinued just before he came into office in 2024.

The trolley was ultimately incorporated back into the Hele-On transit system and occasionally is used to transport passengers on the 201 route on Ali‘i Drive.

“You still see it around sometimes,” said Ross Wilson, Kailua Village Business Improvement District Executive Director.

He added that the old “Kona Trolley” signage has been taken off it.

The new Kona Trolley, which can hold up to 44 passengers, is a private enterprise and is charging for ridership passes. Cyrlin said the plan is to buy a second trolley in the future.

The Kona Trolley has launched just in time for the Ironman World Championship, when thousands of spectators and athletes descend on Kailua-Kona and the downtown historic district.

The route includes Kailua Pier, where the Ironman begins, the Kona Commons and the Brew Block, with the popular Kona Brewing Co, with more planned stops.

“I love the idea of supporting local businesses,” Cyrlin said. “This loop really supports the economic engine of the economy by looping us and connecting visitors and locals to local businesses who need the foot traffic while minimizing traffic and assisting with parking issues.”

Wilson said a trolley is an “absolute plus for Kailua Village.”

“With the 10,000 people that will be spectators at the Ironman World Championship, I think they will enjoy the Kona Trolley,” he said. “It’s the way we want to ride around these towns and villages.”

Cyrlin said she initially wanting to start the new trolley route in the summer, but held off for a few months because of bad weather and needing to line up her funding.

“I know it happens to coincide with Ironman, which is wonderful,” Cyrlin said. “It’s going to be great to bring those people around, and it’s just going to be wonderful.”

Before the original Kona Trolley route was discontinued three years ago, Wilson said it had 144,000 riders a year.

“It was not only for visitors, but also for locals moving around the village,” he said.

The new trolley has a wooden ceiling with little tiny windows. It is “open air, but in the front and back, the glass has this nice etched design work on it. It’s really lovely,” Cyrlin said.

But she said the most wonderful part is the bell.

“We can ring the bell when we stop, which is just so sweet,” Cyrlin said.

The trolley currently runs Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The plans are for it to increase to seven days a week.

As the ridership grows, businesses can sponsor stops to expand the route.

The trolley now runs every hour. When a second trolley is purchased, they will run every 30 minutes.

The fares are:

• Visitor: $8 daily / $35 weekly
• Kamaʻāina: $5 daily / $20 weekly / $65 monthly (valid Hawaiʻi State ID or driver’s license required)
• Lap children under 3 ride free