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Few U.S. cities enjoy such a rich and complex history as Montgomery, Alabama. The city was both the Cradle of the Confederacy, and the Birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement. Around its many paradoxical intersections range tales from slavery to freedom, and cotton to biscuits — the Montgomery Biscuits AA baseball team! In 2000, the Montgomery Area Transit Authority began the "Lightning Route," circular tours of historic sites using three replica trolleys. The service was named for Montgomery's pioneering electric trolley system. At first, drivers were encouraged to relate the city's history through a microphone and PA system. Soon, however, tourists discovered different stories depending on who was driving! City fathers ordered a consistent, CD-based tour written by an historian. But transit officials learned that starting and stopping a CD at proper locations was a dangerous distraction for their drivers. In 2004, IntelliTours and Spotlight Mobile created a solution with a GPS-guided handheld computer linked to the trolley's PA system. At Union Station, drivers push one button to choose a route, and start driving. The rest is automatic. The narration plays invisibly, with 45 historic and notable sites triggered automatically by GPS coordinates stored in the computer. The GPS-guided tour is another first for Montgomery's pioneering transportation system. Don't take our word for it ... read a Montgomery Advertiser article about the Lightning Route. |
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