Funding Woes Spell End for City Trolley

Due to steadily shrinking revenues, the Ventura Trolley--a bus painted in bright green and orange to look like an old-fashioned trolley car--will cease its downtown operations this Labor Day, city officials have announced.

“Trolley advertising revenues, the primary source of funding for the service, have declined over the past six months,” said Debbie Solomon, Ventura’s public affairs coordinator.

“As a result, the trolley operators . . . officially submitted their notice to cease operation at the close of the summer season.”

The trolley service is run by a three-way partnership between the city, local tourism industry and a private operator--Ventura County Shuttle and Airporter.

The city bought the trolley, then leased it to a private operator.

Trolley operation and maintenance were then funded through advertising revenues.

The trolley costs 25 cents and runs in a constant one-hour loop from the Ventura Harbor, over to the beachfront in the Seaward area, down to Seaside Park and through downtown.

Solomon said the fares cover only about $2,000 of the $50,000 in annual operating costs.

“We set it up intentionally in that way in order to encourage people to ride it,” she said.

Even if it cost $1 per ride, fares probably would not cover costs, she said.

Ridership has remained fairly constant for the 18 months that the trolley ran--hovering at about 1,000 people per month during the summer.

There were slightly fewer riders this summer, Solomon said, in part because the novelty has worn off.

Solomon could not say why advertising revenues dropped, but a full report will be presented to the City Council on Sept. 15.

“It’s a really neat thing,” Solomon said.

“It’s charming. We’ve worked really hard for it. We will look at every alternative short of the city subsidizing it.”