phillytour.com

What is Philly Trolley Works?

Philly Trolley Works is a Philadelphia sightseeing company that runs hop-on, hop-off double-decker bus tours and themed evening and seasonal tours, with group and private options. Its site centers on a few core products: day tours on a mapped route with live bus tracking, a "Philly By Night" evening tour, holiday lights tours, and arrangements for groups, weddings, charters and general transportation. Tickets can be bought online, and the company also resells bundled city attraction passes.

What it offers

• Double-decker day tours — a fixed route with numbered stops, a downloadable route-and-attractions PDF, and real-time bus tracking so you can time your next pickup.
• Philly By Night — an evening sightseeing loop, listed with 6PM and 8PM departures in the site's service updates.
• Holiday Lights Tours — a seasonal evening product with its own published terms and conditions, including a policy on intoxicated passengers.
• Groups, weddings, charters and transportation — private bookings, with a phone line specifically for groups of 25 or more.
• Pass bundles — Philadelphia CityPASS and Go City all-inclusive passes, plus a Franklin Mobile Tours option.

Who it suits

First-time visitors who want an orientation loop before deciding where to spend time; families who prefer staying on a bus between stops; and groups organizing a fixed itinerary. The night and holiday tours suit people who have already covered the major historic sites by day and want something different, or who want the city lit up rather than narrated in daylight. The charter and wedding services point to a different audience: locals and event planners who need vehicles and a driver rather than a narrated tour.

Practical things to know

The site's own announcements show how much the route can move. On certain dates all tours departed from Stop 6 at 12th and Filbert Street because of road closures around Independence Mall; the Franklin Institute stop was relocated to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway near Logan Circle "until further notice"; and the Fairmount Park Loop (Red Route) ran only Friday through Sunday in summer, with limited service at times. Holiday schedules also shift — one July 4th update cancelled night tours entirely and cut the last day tour to 4PM.

That matters for planning. If a specific stop is the reason you're riding, confirm the current departure point and whether your stop is being served before you buy. The live bus tracking and the route PDF are the two tools worth checking on the day.

A quick comparison

Next step

Decide whether you want flexibility or a fixed experience. For flexibility, buy a day ticket and use the live tracking to plan hops. For a set evening out, book Philly By Night or a holiday tour and re-check the departure stop the day before, since the site posts changes close to the date. Groups of 25 or more should call the group line rather than booking individually.

How can I buy tickets for a Philly Trolley Works tour?

Buy tickets through Philly Trolley Works' own site at Philly Trolley Works, where the "Buy Tickets" option sits in the main navigation. For groups of 25 or more, the site directs you to call 215-389-8687 (215-389-TOUR) instead of booking online. If you're weighing up a bundle, the site also points to Philadelphia CityPASS® and the GO City All-Inclusive Pass as ticket options.

Practical steps

• Individual or small-party tickets: Start on the website and use "Buy Tickets."
• Groups of 25+: Phone the number above; the site specifically routes large groups there.
• Bundled sightseeing: Compare CityPASS and GO City passes against a single Philly Trolley Works ticket if you plan to visit several attractions.

Before you commit

Check the announcements section on the same page. It carries date-specific changes — for example, tours departing from Stop 6 at 12th and Filbert Street during road closures, a relocated Franklin Institute stop, and limited service on the Red Route/Fairmount Park Loop. Holiday Lights Tour purchases come with terms and conditions covering passenger conduct, so read those if you're booking that tour.

A sensible next step: decide your date and group size first, since those two factors determine whether you book online, call, or pick a pass — and whether a detour notice applies to your departure point.

What is included in the Philadelphia CityPASS® and GO City All-Inclusive Pass options?

The page lists Philadelphia CityPASS® and GO City All-Inclusive Pass as ticket options alongside the operator's own tours, but it does not itemize what each pass includes. The practical answer is that these are separate bundled-attraction products sold through the trolley operator's ticket page, and the inclusions are set by the pass companies, not by Philly Trolley Works.

What the page supports

• Both passes appear under "Buy Tickets" as alternatives to single tour tickets.
• The operator's own products are separate: Double Decker Bus Tours, Philly By Night, Holiday Lights Tours, and FranklinMobile Tours.
• Group pricing is handled by phone for parties of 25 or more.

What to check before buying

CityPASS products generally bundle a set number of major attractions for one price, while GO City all-inclusive passes typically cover a broader list of attractions over a set number of days. Because inclusions and participating attractions change, confirm the current list on the pass issuer's own site rather than assuming the trolley tour is part of the bundle. Check CityPASS and Go City for the authoritative attraction lists and terms.

A concrete decision path

If your priority is the hop-on, hop-off loop and the night tour, buy directly from Philly Trolley Works. If you plan to visit several museums and landmarks in one trip, compare the pass price against the individual admission total for the specific attractions you will actually visit — a pass only saves money when you use enough of its inclusions. Note that the operator's route changes with road closures and seasons, and the Fairmount Park Loop runs Friday through Sunday in summer, so build your itinerary around the live route map and real-time bus tracking before committing.

How does the real-time live bus tracking work for Philly Trolley Works tours?

Live bus tracking on Philly Trolley Works is a map-based view of where the buses currently are, so you can time your arrival at a stop instead of waiting on the sidewalk. The site presents it as "Real Time Live Bus Tracking" alongside a downloadable PDF of the tour route and attractions — the tracking page answers "where is the bus right now," while the PDF answers "which stops exist and what's near them."

How to use it in practice

1. Open the live tracking view before you leave your hotel or restaurant, and again about 10 minutes before you plan to board.
2. Cross-check the bus position against the route PDF, since stops occasionally move (the site notes relocations such as Stop 16 at the Franklin Institute being shifted to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway/Logan Circle area).
3. If you're heading to a specific stop, confirm it's still being served that day — the Fairmount Park Loop, for example, runs only Friday through Sunday in summer.
4. For groups of 25 or more, call 215-389-8687 rather than relying on the map alone, since group boarding is arranged separately.

What tracking does and doesn't solve

A concrete scenario

You're at Reading Terminal Market with a timed-entry ticket elsewhere in the afternoon. You check the live map, see a bus a few blocks away, and walk to the nearest stop rather than committing to a fixed departure time. If the map shows nothing nearby, check the announcements first — detours and closures around Independence Mall have moved departures to Stop 6 at 12th and Filbert Street, and on those days the bus may never reach your usual stop.

Decision criterion

Use live tracking if your schedule is flexible and you're boarding at a standard stop on a normal service day. Rely on the announcements page and a phone call if you're traveling on a holiday, during a road closure, or with a large group — those are the situations where the map can look accurate while the actual route has changed. Ticket options referenced on the site, such as Philadelphia CityPASS® and Go City passes, are sold through those operators, so check CityPASS or Go City directly for what each pass covers before buying.

Can I book a private charter or group tour with Philly Trolley Works?

Yes. Philly Trolley Works lists charters and group tours alongside its regular sightseeing routes, so a private booking is a normal request rather than a special exception. The site separates its offerings into tours, weddings, groups, charters, holiday lights tours and transportation services, which tells you the company handles both leisure groups and event-based transportation.

What that looks like in practice

• Groups: The site notes a phone number for groups of 25 or more, so larger parties are routed through a call rather than an online checkout.
• Weddings: Weddings appear as a distinct service category, which usually means the vehicle is reserved for your party rather than shared with walk-up sightseers.
• Charters: A charter generally means you control the pickup point, timing and route rather than following a fixed hop-on, hop-off loop.
• Holiday lights tours: These run as their own seasonal product with published terms and conditions, including conduct rules for passengers.

How to decide

If your group is 25 or more, or you want a specific date and pickup location, call rather than buying individual tickets. If you are a smaller party willing to share the vehicle and follow the standard route, a regular ticket is simpler and cheaper.

A practical example: a wedding party wanting pickup at a hotel, a loop through Center City for photos and a drop-off at a reception venue is a charter conversation. A family of six in town for a weekend is a ticketing conversation.

Before you call, have these ready

• Date and start time, plus any hard end time
• Pickup and drop-off addresses
• Headcount, including children
• Whether you need the vehicle exclusively or can share
• Any accessibility needs in your group

One thing to check

The site posts frequent service notices about road closures, relocated stops and route changes, including tours departing from a different stop on certain dates. Ask whether your date overlaps any of those, because a private charter can often work around a closure that disrupts the fixed route.

For comparison while planning, Visit Philadelphia maintains city-wide visitor information, and Philadelphia Visitor Center covers Independence Mall area logistics that affect downtown pickups.

What should I know about the Holiday Lights Tour terms and conditions?

The Holiday Lights Tour terms are built around one main rule: passengers who appear intoxicated or under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or who behave in a way that is disruptive or unsafe, can be refused or removed. That is the clause the site spells out most clearly, so treat it as the headline condition rather than fine print.

What the terms cover

• Behavior and sobriety: The operator reserves the right to act on intoxication or unsafe conduct for the safety of all guests.
• Purchase as acceptance: Buying a ticket or joining the tour means you agree to the terms.
• Operational changes: Separate announcements show that routes and departure points can shift because of road closures, with tours sometimes leaving from Stop 6 at 12th and Filbert Street instead of the usual stops.

Practical reading for a group booking

If you are organizing a holiday outing for a group, the terms matter most at the edges: a celebration dinner before boarding, or a large party where one guest overdoes it. The operator's stated position is that the whole group's access depends on everyone's conduct. For groups of 25 or more, the site directs you to call rather than book online, which is also the moment to ask about cancellation, late arrival and accessibility details that the page does not spell out.

Your next step

Before buying, call 215-389-8687 and ask three things: the refund or rebooking policy if the tour is cancelled or rerouted, whether your preferred date has a changed departure point, and how the conduct rule is applied in practice. For a wider look at Philadelphia sightseeing options, Visit Philadelphia lists city attractions and seasonal events.