The Greensboro Transit Agency (GTA) has announced that the free Downtown Greensboro trolley service, which was launched on July 20 and was scheduled to end this month, will be extended to June 2024.
The trolley service is provided by four diesel buses painted to look something like old trolleys and was launched as a five-month pilot project. The trolleys run up and down Elm Street noon to midnight Thursday through Saturday and noon to 10 p.m. on Sunday.
According to Mayor Nancy Vaughan, the trolleys have proved popular and are averaging about 1,500 riders a week.
The pilot project was funded with $90,000 from Participatory Budgeting and $1 million from the General Fund money that was freed up by American Rescue Plan (ARP) dollars. The Greensboro City Council took all $59.4 million in ARP funds and allocated them to the General Fund. By doing this the city didn’t have to follow federal spending guidelines for the ARP money or the financial reporting requirements. But it does mean that all the ARP money has been allocated, so the city is now allocating general fund dollars that were made available by the influx of $59.4 million in the General Fund.
Since the cost to operate the downtown trolley service for five months was estimated to be $1.09 million, it would appear that an additional million dollars or so would be needed to extend the trolley service from January to June.
However, Vaughan said that because the estimates for operating the trolley service were based on running the trolleys seven days a week and that was reduced to four days a week and shorter hours, the initial $1.09 million in funding should be sufficient to pay for the service through June.
To fund the free downtown trolley service past June 2024, the City Council will have to find a million or so dollars in the 2024-2025 fiscal year budget.
Not enough benefit to compensate for the cost. Just another feel-good doonboggle.
Nice spoonerism, Miller!
Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be.
I have never observed more than 4 people on any trolley. I see lots more homeless people around Dow on a daily basis. Any consideration for using that money where it is actually needed??
That is $5 per person per ride!
Lol, extend wasting tax dollars, brilliant!
Why isn’t that $1 million being used to have our homeless population from now until June? Such a waste of money on a feel-good project
More frivolous spending. Free rides? Nope tax payer funded rides. I thought parking revenue was supposed to offset Performance Arts cost? Also why is city refusing to charge for parking at events like Disney on ice or the sold out Billy Strings concert at the Coliseum a few weeks ago? Don’t raise taxes and then give away free fluff to Performance Arts Patrons downtown, we have a crumbling police force and record high homeless in our community.
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“Free” = let’s make someone else pay for it.
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Over $1 million spent on an estimated 25000 rides. $43 per rider to travel the length of Elm St. Our city council has lost their collective minds.
It’s time for people with a little common sense to be elected to represent Greensboro.