‘Trolley’ Shuttles Are A Big Hit Ridership Jumps 80 Percent; Three Replicas Can’t Keep Up

They’re not real streetcars, but the trolley-replica buses serving downtown Spokane are proving wildly popular.

Ridership on the lumbering diesel shuttles was up 80 percent last month over the number of people riding the regular buses that operated on the same route in May 1994, the Spokane Transit Authority reports.

Maybe it was all the publicity, STA Executive Director Allen Schweim said Tuesday, or maybe it was knocking a dime off the 35-cent one-way trip.

Perhaps, Schweim said, it’s the novelty and ambience and the link between downtown’s future and its glory days as a transportation hub.

Whatever the reason, the rubber-tired trolley replicas are so crowded that STA will add two regular buses to the No. 27 Coliseum Shuttle route.

After 15 months of public debate and unexpected delays, the three trolleys began rolling March 17, bringing shoppers downtown and carrying commuters who park in the free lot at the old Coliseum.

The trolley replicas cost $182,000 each. A normal bus is priced at about a quarter million dollars. “These were worth waiting for,” Schweim said.

In May 1994, Route 27 carried 12,412 riders. Last month, the green trolley replicas with oak trim and slick benches toted 22,384 passengers.

Business is so good that the trolleys can’t keep up with their schedule of running every 10 minutes and every five minutes during rush hours.

Two regular 30-foot buses will augment the trolleys within a few weeks.

They’re being painted special metallic colors - blue-gray and purple - to make them stand out from the rest of the 140-bus fleet, Schweim said.

Overall, STA ridership in 1995 is up 3.5 percent over last year - to 3,371,403 passengers. The trolleys account for much of the riding boom.

Edward “Al” Payne of Payne Properties & Development Co. recently wrote Schweim, “I have enjoyed the image portrayed by the new trolleys…. They both forge a link with the past and help contribute to the unique appeal of the city of Spokane.”

City Council candidate Ken Withey, who still opposes allowing the trolleys to run through Riverfront Park, is warming to the pseudo streetcars.

His only complaint is the uncomfortable wooden seats. After numerous other complaints, STA has ordered one-inch foam pads “to cushion the tush,” Schweim said.

His only worry is what customers will call the new purple bus which will be unveiled in a couple of weeks.

“I hope to God no one calls it Barney,” he said, referring to the dinosaur television icon.

, DataTimes