Whittier to Buy 5 ‘Trolleys’ to Lure Bus Riders

The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to add style and cost to its transit system by purchasing five buses built to resemble old-time streetcars.

The difference in cost between ordinary city buses and trolley-style coaches is about $30,000 per vehicle. In addition, the city will pay about $60,000 more in yearly maintenance, said Linda Creed, transit manager.

But city officials say the specialty buses are worth it because they will increase ridership and provide a marketing tool for Whittier.

The trolleys will replace van buses that have been provided by a private transit contractor. Whittier’s two routes will remain unchanged as well as its hours of service: from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays.

Council members had long been leaning toward buying the custom buses, which are called trolleys in the cities where they are used.

On Oct. 8, representatives of Chance Coach Inc., based in Kansas, and Specialty Vehicle Manufacturing Corp., a Downey firm, had paraded their specialty buses before council members and interested residents.

The Chance diesel was the better looker, most agreed, from its more ornate handrails and decorative sunshade to its brass and Philippine mahogany interior. The Chance also offered better visibility to riders.

“That one looks like a real trolley,” said Katie Rahder, 10, who came along for the ride with her mother, Councilwoman Helen McKenna-Rahder.

But the Chance did not compare so well in terms of leg room and capacity.

“How can two people sit in this seat?” asked Councilman Bob Henderson, during the tour of the Chance.

“They can,” a sales representative assured him. “They do it all the time.” Indeed, Chance has sold 157 of the trolleys in 27 states, and customers must currently wait a year to receive their product. Bell Gardens, Bellflower and Chula Vista all have bought the Chance trolleys.

In the end, however, Specialty Vehicle Manufacturing Corp. got the nod from Whittier on the basis of comfort and practicality.

“The Chance is a more authentic-looking trolley, but the seating is more cumbersome,” McKenna-Rahder had said during the demonstration.

The red and green Specialty diesel, although it looks less like a San Francisco cable car, is hardly a stepchild in appearance, with its brass and oak interior and contoured wooden benches.

Neither vehicle will return Whittier to the streetcar era, which ended with the scrapping of the local Red Car line years ago. Whittier’s new vehicles, with the bells and whistles removed, are buses.

“The only difference is the thrill of driving something that looks like this and how people see you when you come down the road,” said Robert Blanding, a bus-driver trainer whom Chance had asked to drive the simulated streetcar around the block for council members.

In essence, officials in Whittier and other cities have decided that it is not just where you go, but how you get there.

Lynwood will have a ribbon cutting later this month to usher a third trolley into its local transit service, which is free. Lynwood’s vehicles are from other manufacturers. It is hard to imagine such red-carpet treatment for an ordinary bus, but as for trolley buses, “They are charming,” said Lorry Torres, the city’s administrative analyst.

“It brings up the image of the city,” said Billy Roberts, transportation supervisor for Bell Gardens. His city purchased two trolleys for its local fixed-route transit service, which began in August. “It’s something about which the community can say, ‘Look at what the city is doing.’ ”

Roberts said ridership is running at about 40 persons an hour so far. Passengers, who pay a fare of 10 cents, include children going to and from school, senior citizens running errands, shoppers and even some local commuters.

“We have a high population density,” Roberts said. “That contributes a lot to our ridership. And most people are from a one-car family.”

Bell Gardens started its trolley service in part to ease the load on its pre-existing dial-a-ride system. Now, many people who had called for rides are taking the trolleys.

But the trolley has attracted other riders as well, Roberts said. He called it “a new market share.”

“People who won’t ride public transit for some reason will ride a trolley,” he said.

That phenomenon justifies the trolley buses in Bellflower as well, said Mike Egan, assistant to the city administrator. “We need to get people off the roads,” he said. The trolley puts us in a good position for advertising our service. It’s a good recognition symbol.”

As for Whittier, city officials plan to do more with their trolley buses than market their 25-cents-a-ride transportation service. City leaders hope trolley buses will promote the city itself, particularly the downtown business district, which is called Uptown.

The city center is still trying to recoup customers lost after the October, 1987, Whittier earthquake, which destroyed 34 buildings, about half of the business district, and severly damaged 23 others. In voicing his support for trolleys, Mayor Thomas K. Sawyer stressed the importance both of bringing nearby residents downtown to shop and making the transportation itself something to remember.

For that mission, the trolley bus is ideal, said Nancy Munoz, sales manager for Specialty Vehicle Manufacturing Corp.

“In some cities back East, the attraction is absolutely the historical nostalgia,” she said. “Most cities did have streetcars. (But) Some cities buy them because they’re cute.”