Trolley to Lend City Old Familiar Ring

Forget St. Louis. Meet me in Ventura.

Sometime soon, visitors and locals alike will come to know the indelible charm of trolley transportation. On Wednesday, the city of Ventura parked its new red-and-green trolley bus outside City Hall for passersby to take a gander at.

It’s a new vehicle--purchased by the city for $21,000 using a combination of federal grants and city funds--but with its wooden benches and brass plating, it smacks of a simpler day. The 25-cent fare folks will pay when service starts in March definitely recalls a bygone era.

And it’s got a bell too.

It’s all part of Ventura’s effort to reach out to a growing number of tourists.

“Visitors come to our beaches, our harbor or our historic downtown, but we badly needed some kind of linkage between the three,” said Debbie Solomon, public affairs coordinator for the city. “This trolley makes it easy.”

The exact route is still being hammered out, officials said.

The city-owned trolley is being operated by Ventura County Shuttle, which also operates Airporter shuttles to Los Angeles International Airport.

While the shuttle company will run the trolley day-to-day, owner Susan R. Crespi said, advertising revenue will support the venture. Hotels, restaurants and other businesses have purchased space for signs above the seats--subway-style--or on the trolley’s exterior. So far, 15 advertisers have agreed to pay monthly fees ranging from $100 to $600, Crespi said.

On Fridays and Saturdays from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., the trolley will take part in a sort of restaurant-crawl. The hungry can find menus of advertising restaurants on board, and can stop at the desired eatery--or several, for multiple courses.

On weekdays, the trolley will run an hourly circuit from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. among the beaches, hotels, harbor and downtown.