Buses should be top priority, not trolleys

IT’S DIFFICULT to make sense of Columbia City Council’s recent decision to acquire six aged and ailing trolleys from the Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority even as this community braces for a proposed 40 percent cut in bus service.

How is it that resurrecting a trolley system that has failed multiple times — once under the guidance of the city and again under the direction of the transit authority — has become a priority at such a pivotal moment in the life of the bus system? The trolleys were put to rest because they simply couldn’t be run efficiently and were too much of a drain on public coffers.

While the city will receive the trolleys at no cost from the transit authority, it’s going to cost a projected $30,000 to $40,000 to get them ready for the road — if not more. In a memo to city manager Steve Gantt, general services director David Knoche wrote: “As a reminder, there are six trolleys, none have run in the last year, four have not run in the last several years and were used to rob parts off of for the last two that were running.”

So, although the city takes over the trolleys at no cost, it remains to be seen exactly what it’s going to cost to get and keep them on the road.

The success of this endeavor is questionable enough considering the past failures and the condition of the trolleys. But the bigger concern is the city’s insistence on developing a separate plan to run, fund and manage the trolleys outside of the overall transit system. Using local tax dollars to put the trolleys back on the road should be out of the question, especially considering the state of the bus system — and all the other unmet service needs in these lean times.

Mayor Steve Benjamin said in an email that the city will seek grant funding to help put the trolleys back in service. It’s unclear exactly how a newly configured trolley system would work. Mr. Benjamin said the hope is to develop a downtown circular trolley service that would not only serve tourists but also help planned “park and ride” efforts. He said it’s important to develop various devices aimed at getting people out of their cars. An effective trolley service, he said, would “help with parking, traffic, air quality and the growth of the regional transit system.”

He also noted that citizens already have paid for the trolleys and that, in an effort to return them to use effectively, ”it was important to me to have them under our control again until a meaningful, big picture, fiscally conservative plan could be developed for them.”

If the trolley system is going to have a reasonable chance of success, it must work hand-in-hand with a viable bus system, which would bring people into town who would use the trolleys. It’s odd that the city is concentrating on the trolleys when the overall transit system is in danger of falling apart. Although Columbia and Lexington and Richland counties are providing funding for the bus system, the total allocation falls short of what it takes to keep the system operating at its current inadequate level, let alone supporting the kind of service this community actually needs.

The transit authority is considering potentially debilitating cuts to bus service as a result of a $3 million funding gap. Before those cuts could go into effect, the public must be allowed to comment. Anyone who cares about the bus system shouldn’t miss this opportunity. The first of three public hearings was held on Tuesday. The second begins at 5:30 p.m. today at the main Richland County library, 1431 Assembly St. The final one will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the transit authority headquarters, 3613 Lucius Road, off River Drive.

The direction and future of the bus system are in limbo. The system hasn’t had an executive director in months, the current board is on its way out, and it is hurting for money. The most immediate response on the part of local officials should be to spend more time and effort — and money — saving the bus system, not trying to salvage a defunct trolley system.