One of the most iconic features of New Orleans is the streetcar that rides up and down St. Charles Avenue. For $1.25, you can ride from Uptown New Orleans to the French Quarter, passing Tulane University and Audubon Park, the antebellum mansions of the Garden District, the slightly-more-commercial Lower Garden District, and Lee Circle on the way. This is one of the most picturesque parts of New Orleans, and for less than $2, the streetcar lets you see a huge portion of the city. No matter where you get off the streetcar, you’re guaranteed to be only a short walk from several other local attractions. The World War II Museum is near the Lee Circle stop. Creole Creamery is two blocks from Robert Street. Commanders Palace is two blocks from Washington Avenue, and the entire French Quarter is waiting when you get off at Canal Street.
The streetcar system served as a primary form of public transportation in the late 1800s and early 1900s, but the streetcars were mostly phased out in the 1950s and replaced by busses (including the one referenced by Tennessee Williams in A Streetcar Named Desire, which ran through the French Quarter). The St. Charles streetcar continued to run, but stopped from August 2005 until June 2008 following Hurricane Katrina. The system is being reintroduced, however, and today there are four streetcar lines: the St. Charles line, a line that runs down the Mississippi Riverfront from the French Market to the Convention Center, and two that run from the Mississippi River down Canal Street to Mid-City.
The New Orleans streetcar system is many things, but reliable is not one of them. I’m from Washington, DC, so I’m used to reliable, efficient public transportation—I can get to the Metro and know, barring any unforeseen delays, exactly what time I’ll arrive at my destination. I can even go online and find out what time a train is coming. In contrast, getting a streetcar in New Orleans really requires luck—I’ve waited anywhere from five minutes to an hour for a streetcar to roll by, and many times I’ll see a streetcar but it’s too crowded to even stop. Another thing that’s more challenging about the streetcar is that you have to actually pay attention to where you are—it’s not going to tell you which cross street you’re approaching, so you have to figure it out for yourself. This can actually be nice, because you get to do a lot of sight-seeing while you’re on the ride. It’s a fun experience, but if you really need to get somewhere at a particular time, I’d suggest you take a taxi.
In spite of this and a few other flaws (the St. Charles streetcars are not ADA-accessible or air conditioned, though the newer streetcars on Canal Street are), New Orleans’ streetcar system is probably cooler than whatever public transportation exists in your home town. On a practical note, unlike subway systems in Washington and New York, the streetcar offers uninterrupted cell phone service. More importantly, the streetcar is one of the things that makes New Orleans unique—plenty of cities have underground subway systems, and though it may not be the most efficient mode of transportation, it shows you all the unique things about New Orleans’ history and culture. And that is unique in itself.