VENTURA : Trolleys Headed for Palm Springs

Goodby Ventura, hello Palm Springs.

The familiar clang-clang of Ventura’s two colorful trolleys will soon reverberate on the streets of the desert oasis.

The owners of Buenaventura Trolley Co. have struck a deal to lease the trolleys to Desert Adventures, a tour company in Palm Springs.

The trolleys could be cruising the streets of Palm Springs as early as Tuesday.

Plagued with debts, the trolley company could no longer keep the vehicles running, and the trolleys made their final run in Ventura in January.

The Ventura City Council rejected a proposal to subsidize the trolleys, and no other group stepped forward to provide financial help.

That miffed Dave Taylor, general manager of the operation.

“We know that Venturans liked the trolley, but their sentiments were overruled by a handful of local politicians,” he said in a news release about the departure of the trolleys for Palm Springs.

The trolleys had been in Ventura since 1988.

They were replicas, built in Maine, with old-time park benches and windows that have frosted designs.

In one, the solid brass bell originally clanged in an 1887-vintage San Francisco trolley.

The trolleys traveled a seven-mile loop connecting the harbor, major hotels, downtown Ventura and cultural spots.

Although ridership was increasing, the trolleys were only 23% full during 1989-90.

The decision of Taylor and owner Barbara Ketchum to lease the trolleys came with some emotional tugs.

“We had first decided to sell the trolleys elsewhere, but our fondness for them became a deciding factor,” Taylor said in the release.