Trolley

A trolley is a mode of transportation used in Republic City. It resembles a train, though it runs on electricity and is far smaller, functioning with only a single car. Trolleys are widely used across many of Republic City's boroughs, and are even found underground, where the Equalists use them for their own illegal purposes, such as weapon trafficking.

History
Trolleys were commonplace in Republic City by 170 ASC. Above ground, they were in use as a means of cheap public transportation. Underground, a different type of trolley was being used by the Equalists. It's existence was kept secret to the rest of the city for quite some time.

After Bolin was kidnapped by the Equalists, Mako and Korra left to search for him. At one point, they stopped to rest at a trolley station, where they began to examine some Equalist propaganda flyers. On the back of a flyer, they noticed a map that had a location marked on it. Mako put the flyer map against a map of the entire city and was able to pinpoint the location of an Equalist rally, where his brother was most likely being held captive.

Mako is known to regularly use a trolley to get from his home at the Pro-Bending Arena to his job at the power plant, and vice versa. One day, while walking to a trolley after finishing his job, a girl on a moped accidentally hit him while he was crossing the street. Despite being angered by the incident, he was happy to accept a date she requested. That night, Mako ate dinner with the girl, Asami, at Kuang's Cuisine, near which there was a trolley line.

While searching for Korra at the underground Equalist headquarters, Team Avatar secretly boarded a tram and rode into a prison, where they thought Korra was being held captive. However, they failed to find her and were forced to flee the headquarters. They once again boarded the tram and left for the exit, but were pursued by Equalists in a tram behind them. Bolin divided the two trams by blocking the rail in front of the tram behind them with earthbending. Lin blasted a hole in the ceiling and thrusted the tram upwards with her earthbending, allowing Team Avatar to escape without reaching the exit, which was now heavily guarded and thus rendered unusable.

Known types

 * Streetcar - Is used at street level in downtown Republic City, and has stops near Central City Station, Republic City Power Plant, and Kuang's Cuisine. The stations are open-air and small, with only enough seats for a few passengers waiting to board the streetcar. The trolleys themselves are small as well, and only one car is allowed to stop at a station at a time. Passengers can board or exit the streetcar through the back, where the passageway is on the left. Streetcars are box-shaped and have several windows to let in light, including three on the back and four on the left. Since they function at street level, these trolleys do occasionally interfere with vehicle traffic. Like trains, they run on tracks and wheels, but are powered by electricity vented through two cables held high above the tracks. Two sticks reach into the air and connect the cars to the cables. Overall, streetcars are intricately designed with ornate patterns that are aesthetically pleasing. For the most part, the cars are yellowish-green in color.
 * Tram - Found in the tunnels beneath Republic City and are operated by the Equalists. They are made of metal and do not have rooves. The cars have two large searchlights, which are used in the dark to see. Each tramway has it's own tunnel, although more than one tram can be used on each one. Either side of a tram can be used as the front. The tram cars can be divided into two halves; one side hold the luggage, while the other has the passenger seats. Unlike streetcars, trams run on only one rail, and get electricity from one cable as well. There is only one connection between the tram and the cable, which is attached to the ceiling. A single tram can hold many passengers.