VICE PRESIDENT OF CITYVIEW
TROLLEY TOURS OF KEY WEST IS
ED SWIFT’S FORMER SON-IN-LAW
COMPANY WANTS TO START
OPERATIONS HERE IN NOVEMBER
by Dennis Reeves Cooper
Part of the fallout from
the long-running Duck Tour
Seafaris lawsuit is that the court
ruled that part of the City of Key
West’s exclusive sightseeing
franchise with Historic Tours
of America (HTA) violated the
state antitrust law. Although
HTA still has a franchise agreement
with the City which requires
the company to pay the
City a percentage of the profits
of the Conch Tour Train and Old
Town Trolleys, the agreement
can no longer restrict where
competing sightseeing companies
can sell tickets or pick up
or drop off passengers.
As a result, CityView
Trolley Tours, a company that
runs sightseeing operations in
Boston, Salem and Cambridge,
Massachusetts, has formed
a new Florida corporation—
CityView Trolley Tours of Key
West— to compete with HTA
here. Greg Wythe, vice president
of the new company, has
sent letters to Mayor Morgan
McPherson and the six city
commissioners, telling them
that he hopes to begin sightseeing
operations here with four
to six trolleys by November of
this year.
“Between now and then,
we will be finalizing whatever
licensing or franchise contracts
are required,” Wythe told Key West The Newspaper this week.
“We also will be hiring and
training drivers, ticket sellers,
maintenance workers and other
staff.”
Wythe said that he hopes
to be able to fill all positions
with local residents.
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