Mobile, Ala., mayor doubles down on vision to replace city buses with trolleys: ‘Obsessed with them’

By John Sharp | al.com (TNS)

MOBILE, ALA. — While on the campaign trail last summer, before winning Mobile’s mayoral election, Spiro Cheriogotis made clear he had an unconventional vision for the city’s public transit future.

“There’s no reason buses serving the downtown area couldn’t be supplemented or totally replaced by trackless trolleys in the future,” Cheriogotis said during last year’s campaign.

Now, exactly one year after the mayoral election, Cheriogotis is sticking with that vision and appears to be doubling down on it. During comments Tuesday, the mayor said he ultimately wants to replace Mobile’s Wave buses with trolleys as part of a long-term overhaul of the city’s public transportation system.

The mayor expanded on that goal after several Mobile City Council members said they were unclear about his plans.

“There was a time when public transportation was a big deal in Mobile, and used by everyone,” Cheriogotis said during the council’s preconference meeting. “I think we can get back there with the right vehicle and plan.”

The discussion surfaced during consideration of a $230,950 contract with Star Graphics Inc. to place new graphics on 16 buses, 11 vans, four SUVs, 12 sedans and 18 paratransit shuttles. The branding package reflects the city’s transition from the long-established Wave transit system to the newly renamed Second Line Transit.

The new graphics will also be applied to a trolley purchased by the city for more than $100,000 using money from a previous capital budget.

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Some council members said they were unaware of the trolley purchase. A city spokesperson declined to release an image of the vehicle, saying officials want to unveil it after it receives the new branding and design features.

The graphics are being installed ahead of the official rollout of Second Line Transit, which could launch shortly after Labor Day.

The trolley is expected to serve as an early symbol of the mayor’s broader transportation vision. Second Line Transit will be operated by Via Transit, which was awarded a city contract last year to redesign Mobile’s public transportation system with features including app-based ride booking and expanded microtransit options.

“I don’t know why I’m obsessed with them, but I am,” Cheriogotis said about the concept of trolleys.

His spokesperson said trolleys remain central to the mayor’s transit vision and could eventually operate beyond downtown Mobile.

In most U.S. cities with modern trolley or streetcar systems, the vehicles primarily serve downtown or entertainment districts. The Tuscaloosa Transit Authority, for instance, operates wheel-based trolleys between the student entertainment districts downtown and The Strip.

“The idea is to get people more excited about using public transit,” said Dale Liesch, spokesperson for Cheriogotis. “A trolley would be a fun replacement for a bus. Trolleys are smaller. They hold a similar amount of people but are smaller and are easier to maneuver on the city streets.”

Still, questions remain about exactly what type of trolley system the mayor envisions and how much it could cost.

For now, Cheriogotis dismissed any suggestion that the city is preparing to install rail lines for a traditional streetcar system. Modern streetcar projects that require laying track and relocating utilities can cost tens of millions of dollars per mile.

In Atlanta, a downtown streetcar operated by the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority cost roughly $99 million to build and launch in 2014. The 2.7-mile route includes 12 stops through the city’s downtown core.

Cheriogotis said he is not “married to one specific brand” of trolley and noted that several options exist. He added that he does not favor open-sided trolleys in a city that is frequently “hot and wet,” and prefers enclosed vehicles that are climate controlled.

He also said there are no immediate plans “to spend $1 billion to lay track and put that infrastructure in, yet,” for a rail-based system.

Instead, the mayor said the city must be mindful of federal requirements tied to its existing bus fleet. A wholesale replacement of federally funded buses could trigger financial penalties or repayment obligations.

“The goal is to, over time, divest ourselves of the buses that does not negatively impact the funding for transit (or) does not require the city to return funding from the sale of the vehicles,” Cheriogotis said.

Federal transit rules have led to costly consequences elsewhere.

In Rome, Georgia, city officials agreed last year to repay nearly $1.49 million to federal and state transportation authorities after an audit found the city had improperly used federally funded transit buses to transport schoolchildren for decades. The controversy ultimately cost local taxpayers about $5 million after the school system spent another $3.5 million to purchase its own bus fleet and establish a transportation department.

Cheriogotis said Mobile will pursue grants and other funding opportunities to support any future transition.

The larger plan, he said, is to expand microtransit throughout Mobile while gradually replacing buses. He argued that low ridership reflects the public’s lack of enthusiasm for traditional bus service.

“If we replace these vehicles with vehicles they want to ride in and trolleys are a lot of fun, the plan is generally on our existing (bus) routes, to replace the buses ultimately with trolleys,” he said.

Councilman Ben Reynolds, who asked Cheriogotis to clarify the proposal, said he believes any large-scale conversion remains a long way off.

“I don’t think this is a game-changer moment,” Reynolds said. “It could be, I guess? But I don’t see a straight line to it. I would need to see a better straight line to success.”

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