Ultrawealthy California town starts up summertime beach trolley
May 22-For drivers heading into one of California's most notoriously congested beach corridors this summer, Newport Beach is reviving a familiar solution: free trolley rides up and down the Balboa Peninsula.
The city's Balboa Peninsula Trolley service returns May 23 and is scheduled to operate weekends through Sept. 7, along with service on the major summer holidays of Memorial Day, Independence Day (observed on July 3) and Labor Day. The system is designed to move beachgoers around the peninsula without forcing them into the notoriously brutal hunt for parking.
"The Balboa Peninsula Trolley is a free service to get you easily moving around the Peninsula without having to pay for parking or worry about finding a place to park," the city announced.
The trolley route will again begin near the intersection of Tustin Avenue and Avon Street in Mariners' Mile, where riders can also access free parking at the Avon Street lot by using the promo code "TROLLEY26" through the ParkMobile app, the city said. From there, the route loops through the peninsula with 22 designated stops.
Four trolleys are scheduled to operate during standard weekends, with a fifth added on holidays. City officials estimate arrivals every 15 minutes, though they warned service may slow during heavy traffic periods - an almost inevitable reality on summer weekends in the affluent Orange County enclave. Real-time trolley tracking is available online and through the TripShot mobile app.
Newport Beach is home to the ultrawealthy community of Newport Coast, which includes the 92657 ZIP code, identified by multiple rankings as the wealthiest ZIP code in the United States by average household income.
The city said riders can bring bicycles using front-mounted racks, surfboards 6 feet or shorter, beach gear and even luggage for trips connecting to Catalina Island ferries.
The service traces back more than a decade to efforts aimed at reducing gridlock and reviving commercial activity along the peninsula. According to the city, officials began studying shuttle and trolley feasibility in 2015 as neighborhood revitalization projects increased pressure on local traffic and parking infrastructure.
Program goals the city listed included, "Providing an alternative to cruising for a parking space on the Balboa Peninsula; Encouraging visitors to the Balboa Village and the beaches; and Designing a service that is simple to understand, easy to use and fun."
The project later secured funding through the Orange County Transportation Authority's community transit circulator grant program. In 2016, the city received more than $685,000 in grant funding to help launch the service. In 2024, officials announced an additional $2.57 million grant award to continue operating the trolley over the next seven years.
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This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 7:15 PM.