Note: Chamber CEO Mike Throne writes a monthly column for Great Seal Living, a local magazine.

Congratulations, folks, you live in an amazing place. Now, you’d expect the CEO of the local Chamber to tell you something like that, but let’s see how the facts stack up.

We’re already a Best Hometown from Ohio Magazine, as named last year. The year before that, the Studer Community Institute gave the city an award for its approach to unifying the community during the pandemic.

This year, Smithsonian Magazine named us a Top 15 Small Town to Visit – mostly fueled by the area’s rich history of Native American culture and a plethora of summer activities to enjoy.

For locals, one of the highlights has been the arrival and use of a new Trolley by the Chillicothe Transit System.

The product of Chillicothe’s participating in the nine-month Bloomberg Harvard Innovation Track, the trolley started out as a two-day trial in the summer of 2021. It was so popular – more than 700 rides in two days with a 90% positive feedback rate – that the decision to purchase the trolley was approved.

The trolley, which was purchased using taxpayer dollars specifically set aside for only transit use, made its debut June 10 during a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Watt Street transit hub.

Since then, the Chilli-trolley (my name for it, and I claim rights) run from 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday on a route that starts at the Bridge Street hotels then proceeds on a loop throughout downtown. On Fridays, the loop starts at noon at the Main Library and proceeds on the downtown route until 8:30 p.m. The same downtown loop is taken from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays.

And it’s been wildly successful. From June 10 to July 19, 1,959 trips were taken on the trolley. In addition, the city operated the trolley on July 4 for the holiday and an additional 305 trips were taken. Friday and Saturday are the busiest days with 15 and 17 trips per hour, while Tuesday only averaged five trips an hour in the first month. When you consider the benchmark for trips per hour is about 11, those numbers look surprisingly good.

The best part of the trolley’s arrival is what it does for the city. First, it gives both residents and visitors another great option to move about the downtown and other areas. We’ve already heard remarkable stories of young families visiting, finding out about the trolley, and racing to jump on board. It’s a fantastic way to see the city.

In addition to the people moving aspect, plans are in the works for historic tours and other fun activities to make better use of the trolley. Imagine a ghost tour during October, or a Statehood Day tour in February/March, or historic tours throughout the summer?

Another great point about the trolley is the positive impact it brings to public transit. In the past, public transit hasn’t always been a main choice for city residents. With the advent of the trolley, the bar has been raised. People are energized by it and ready to ride.

And that’s just one of the many amazing things our transit system has done in 2022. A pilot on-demand transportation project has also been remarkably successful. In the first six months of the year, a little more than 1,000 different riders took more than 16,000 on-demand trips. That’s people getting to work and going with their children to daycare, then work, and back. That’s workers not having to spend money on transportation or gas.

We’re not done in Chillicothe. Next year, the official inscription of World Heritage status for the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks will likely be granted, which will mean enhanced travel visitors to enhance tourism and the local economy.

And they’ll have a trolley to ride.

So, take a bow, everyone. You live in an amazing place.

Mike Throne is the president and CEO of the Chillicothe Ross Chamber of Commerce. He also co-hosts, with Marty Ford, the Feels Like Home podcast available where you get your podcasts. You can reach him at mthrone@chillicotheohio.com.