Old Town Trolley Tours can no longer operate from 4 to 6 p.m., bringing the sightseeing company into compliance with broader city rules around entertainment transportation companies.
The company, regulated under the same standards as Broadway party buses, regularly runs tours during those hours, racking up public complaints and prompting fellow operators to complain to the city about an enforcement double standard. Diana Alarcon, director of the Nashville Department of Transportation, defended the city’s posture toward Old Town as recently as March 21, when she said the company had received verbal permission from NDOT’s former director to break city rules. A letter signed by Alarcon to Old Town lawyers clarifies any gray area.Â
“To the extent your client, Old Town Trolley, believes that it has been granted the authority to deviate from that operating hour restriction, it should, henceforward, clearly understand that no such deviation is being authorized,” reads the letter, dated April 23.
New state protections and public complaints change terrain for downtown transpotainment
In March, fellow entertainment transportation vehicle operators Grant Rosenblatt and Michael Winters called out Old Town in front of the Transportation Licensing Committee, which oversees ETV regulation. Winters (Nashville Tractor, Cruzzin’ Nashville) and Rosenblatt (Honky Tonk Party Express) had ceased operating during those hours due to city restrictions, a decision that, they said, meant lost revenue. Both also appeared motivated by the principle of the matter.Â
“As you are all well aware, there is one sightseeing company that is currently operating between the hours of 4 and 6 p.m. during the weekdays,” Rosenblatt told commissioners in March. “Why is this company granted special privileges when the entire industry is not?”
Both Rosenblatt and Winters proposed the business-friendly solution of allowing all ETVs to operate between 4 and 6 p.m. Their arguments veered close to legal concepts like “estimated damages” and “equal protection laws,” liability headaches that apparently rattled Metro’s legal team. Winters showed up again at the TLC’s April meeting to push for evidence of the verbal agreement previously referenced by Alarcon. Tuesday’s letter provides a legal record for the city’s attempts at equal enforcement and closes whatever loophole may have existed for Old Town.Â
As of April 26, however, the company is still selling tickets to sightseeing tours between 4 and 6 p.m. on its website. Neither Old Town Trolley Tours nor its legal counsel returned the Scene’s request for comment. Annual hearings to review ETV permits will take place May 16.
