Liberty Ride Thrives As Charter Tours Gain Popularity

Thanks to a bit of public relations work, a little money from Town Meeting for publicity, a continual stream of tourists and some new partnerships, Lexington's tourism front is thriving, officials say.

And at the forefront of the tourism movement in town is the Liberty Ride, which started in 2002 and has been growing since, said Liberty Ride and Battle Green Guide Coordinator Masha Traber, also a Lexington resident.

"The word is definitely out. We've been able to hold our own on the daily rider side and overall income is way up," she said between tours on a recent morning.

The Liberty Ride, which runs roughly Memorial Day weekend through Halloween, hits all the major tourism spots in Lexington and Concord via trolley. From the Battle Green to the North Bridge, if a Revolutionary person touched it, riders see it. Each tour includes narration of the events of the era by a costumed guide, and tours last 90 minutes with tickets costing in the range of $25 for adults to $10 for students.

Traber estimates about 5,000 riders a year board the trolley, and 4,000 take charter tours. A slowed economy doesn't seem to have damaged the business, she said.

"We have weathered the recession unbelievably well," said Traber.

As the birthplace of the American Revolution and home to the "shot heard 'round the world," how could the word not have gotten out? The problem was that previously, while Lexington was a destination, there was nothing that led folks from one sight to another.

There were also those who headed only to Concord, bypassing Lexington altogether, but since the Liberty Ride began including Concord on its route, it's finding a growing popularity among tourists.

Traber, who has been with the Liberty Ride as its coordinator since the beginning, said the biggest boons have been the appropriation of funds from Town Meeting and the incredible numbers the charter side of the business has chalked up.

"We had been going up every year, but last year we didn't. We were at the same levels as in 2008, which was our biggest year. But our charter business was up more than forty percent," said Traber.

The first year of charter tours brought about 25 buses in the fall and 25 in the spring. Last year, there were 125, Traber said, and much of that she attributes to a national touring company, Diamond National out of Florida.

"They came on board because they were tired of the same tours (their Boston company gave) and they wanted something a little different. They stumbled on us through our website and went on a couple of tours," she said.

It took them a couple of years to transition, but as of last fall, the touring company was bringing 10 to 12 buses per weekend.

"Now they make up almost half of our tours," said Traber, adding those customers pay the same as everyone else. "They are a huge part of our business now. They are… putting us over the break-even line. The charter business has enabled us to breathe easy now."

In 2002, there were two buses, no publicity and a deficit. In 2005, the ride expanded to include Concord. By 2006, the ride was in the black. The key, Traber said, has been the addition of a real trolley.

"In 2007, we got the trolley and saw an immediate uptick," she said. "The day we got the trolley, sales went up. It has been a tremendous boon for us."

Another change that has helped with publicity is a partnership with the Lexington Historical Society, which began in the 2009 season. The cost of the ride now includes all three historical houses.

"You can visit anytime throughout season," Traber said.

The ride gets no money from the town budget, and became a revolving fund two years ago, receiving $17,000 in advance money which is being paid down slowly, Traber said. The only money spent is what it costs to employ the workers.

Town Meeting approved allowing a small budget for publicity for the town of Lexington, including the Liberty Ride.

"We convinced Town Meeting that tourism was so important that they have now given us a budget for putting the Lexington name out there," Traber said. "It's the first time… they have acknowledged anything about tourism."

With that budget, the ride was able to become a sponsor of the Governor's Conference on Travel and Tourism, and then won one an worth $4,000 to run in the travel section of the Boston Herald, she said.

As the summer season gets into full swing, time will tell whether 2010 will be even more successful for the ride.