OGDEN -- The city has compiled a ridership report that shows about 26,000 passengers have used two trolley-style buses that have looped around the downtown area for 10 months.
The trolley-bus system was launched to determine the feasibility of seeking federal funding for a permanent streetcar circulator for Ogden's business district.
The report has been submitted to the Wasatch Front Regional Council and the Utah Transit Authority for analysis, said Mayor Matthew Godfrey.
The most riders were in December 2010, when 3,819 passengers used the trolley buses, while February had the lowest ridership with 1,687 passengers.
UTA is awaiting additional data from the city to complete the analysis to help the municipality with future transit planning, said Gerry Carpenter, a UTA spokesman. The analysis will involve examining ridership, operational costs, bus frequency and other factors, he said.
The federal government would need to contribute about $25 million for the streetcar circulator, said Godfrey.
If the project did receive the federal funding, the city would likely have to contribute about $5 million in matching funds and about $1 million annually for operational costs, Godfrey said.
The city submitted a federal grant application for the circulator last year, but the proposal was not approved.
If the circulator were built, it is possible that the tracks could be incorporated into a larger $160 million streetcar system proposed from the Intermodal Hub to Weber State University and McKay-Dee Hospital, said Godfrey.
The two trolley-replica buses currently in use each seat 32 passengers and began operating in November 2010 with $175,400 in funding derived from a quarter-cent sales tax approved by Weber County voters in 2007.
The city has contracted with Downtown Ogden Inc., which manages the Ogden Farmers Market and a host of local events, to operate the trolley replicas.
The vehicles run along a route that includes 10 stops and takes about 15 minutes to complete. The route starts at the Intermodal Hub at 23rd Street and Wall Avenue. From there, it goes south along Wall Avenue, east on 25th Street, and north on Washington Boulevard. Then the trolley replicas travel west on 22nd Street to Kiesel Avenue south through The Junction development and back to the Intermodal Hub.
The trolley replicas operate from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
See what the Weber County Forum says: http://wcforum.blogspot.com/2011/10/standard-examiner-next-stop-for-trolley.html
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