Public “trolley” service is making a comeback in Old Ellicott City nearly 70 years after the automobile edged out the transit option in the historic Maryland town.

Inspired by the streetcar that once ran along Main Street until the 1950s, Howard County officials on Thursday announced the launch of a yearlong pilot program offering free weekend service to residents and visitors.

Beginning Saturday, blue and orange circulator buses, which the county is calling “trolleys,” will shuttle riders from the top of Main Street down to Parking Lot A just across the Patapsco River in Oella during peak activity times from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

“We all share a common goal of ensuring our historic Ellicott City is a thriving, connected, accessible and welcoming place for all, and today marks another exciting step towards us cementing that goal,” Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said during a news conference Thursday.

Ellicott City already has 900 public parking spaces dispersed across town, but the town’s steep hills and narrow sidewalks can present mobility obstacles for some visitors, residents and workers, Ball and other officials said.

The buses will arrive at stops every 10-15 minutes, making it easier for people to move around downtown without a car. On days with special events, the service will extend to the courthouse lot to accommodate additional riders. The route also connects to the Regional Transportation Agency’s 405 bus service that runs along Route 40.

Old Ellicott City advocates have long campaigned for a small weekend shuttle service along Main Street. It was one of several recommendations in Ellicott City’s Watershed Master Plan adopted by the Howard County Council in 2020.

Maryland Del. M. Courtney Watson, who represents portions of Ellicott City, said at least four county executives have fielded requests for a shuttle service over the years.

“This is going to make Main Street Ellicott City more accessible to people with limited mobility, which is hugely important as well as convenient for local shoppers and diners and tourists around the state,” Watson said.

From 1899 to 1955, the No. 9 trolley linked Ellicott City to Catonsville and Baltimore City. The streetcar fell out of vogue around the time American infrastructure started favoring automobiles. The No. 9 line was later converted to a popular multiuse trail that connects Catonsville with Oella and Old Ellicott City.

Local business leaders offered a shuttle service for a time in the mid-2000s, but the program was privately funded, county spokeswoman Safa Hira said Thursday.

The county expects the pilot program to cost $118,000 annually and already has invested $300,000 to purchase two cutaway buses that are accessible to people with disabilities, Hira said.

Over the next year, county officials will monitor the service’s ridership and solicit community feedback to evaluate whether the program should continue in the long term. Hira said the county is committed to running the program through June 2026.