OCEAN CITY, Md. - The Ocean City Development Corporation is conducting research to present to the town’s mayor and council to discuss bringing back the boardwalk tram.
Mayor Matt James tells Draper Media the OCDC hosted an end-of-summer meeting with its membership.
“Many business owners shared concerns about no longer having a tram on our boardwalk and the negative impact this has had,” he says. “I look forward to hearing what they have to say and reviewing their recommendations with the city council.”
Zach Bankert, the Executive Director of OCDC says his team visited sites in New Jersey to see how trams operate on the boardwalk.
“OCDC feels that the Atlantic City model, which is a privatized version, is the model that the town of Ocean City should use moving forward,” he says. “Both because it prioritizes the operations. But also we feel that the vehicle that they use for the tram is a much safer option. You know, we're not blind to safety concerns. We feel that we need to bring back a safer option of the boardwalk tram, and we feel that the electric vehicle that they use in Atlantic City is a really good option.”
The tram has been shut down since August of 2024, when it hit and killed a two-year-old boy. Bankert says he feels that OCDC can bring back a different vehicle that is going to still provide the services that a boardwalk tram needs to provide, but do it much safely than the last version.
“When the town of Ocean City was using those jeeps, you had a big, long hood,” he says. “It's a blind spot for the driver. Whereas these vehicles that they operate in Atlantic City, it has sort of a forward-facing driver position similar to a bus. The vehicle is less wide. It's narrower. It's not as long as the tram that we are operating, it's much less weight. It has the appropriate brakes, all of which are items that were identified as an issue with the last version of the boardwalk tram.”
William Jackson recalls riding the tram when he was a child. He says he has a suggestion if the town were to bring back the tram.
“Probably safety belts and making sure people are strapped in,” he says. “That would be the only thing I would see that you could do any different.”
Joseph Bobek says the tram would help people who may have a hard time getting around.
“I'm for the tram, and I see it basically as assisting people who have issues with walking distances, allowing them to get from one site to another,” he says.
Bankert says the next step is to schedule OCDC’s research presentation to determine further steps.
