County hopes trolly will be winner with the public

To skeptics, Tuolumne County’s plan to use federal stimulus funds to purchase two 30-passenger trolley-style buses for nearly $400,000 might seem impractical.   

But, with the exception of their appearance, the new buses are no different from the other large diesel-powered buses in Tuolumne County Transit’s fleet, according to Darin Grossi, deputy director of the county Public Works Department, who manages the county’s public transportation program.
  

In fact, Grossi said, the fully enclosed trolley-style buses are $6,000 cheaper than the plainer-looking 30-passenger buses the county already owns. The new diesel-powered buses come equipped with a Freightliner chassis, a Cummins engine and Allison transmission — “all quality parts,” according to Grossi.

According to literature from Speciality Vehicles Inc., which plans to sell the trolley-style buses to the county, the Front Engine Classic American Trolley features “a welded tubular steel body and riveted galvaneal exterior panels” and a “solid hardwood interior and polished brass interior fixtures.”

County leaders are hoping the green buses, framed in the style of turn-of-the-century cable cars — like those still seen in San Francisco — will get tourists to spend time and money in Tuolumne County.

"They’re more historic-looking,” Grossi said. “It’s something our chamber of commerce and visitors bureau have encouraged for a number of years.”   

The new buses could be running in the county as soon as six months, according to Grossi. The stimulus grant has already been approved by the feds, with the final hurdle being the state’s review of the county’s purchase contract.

Initially, the buses will run only on the Sonora route, requiring no additional expenditure of county funds, Grossi stressed. However, that could change.

“We have a consultant working with the chamber of commerce and Tuolumne County Visitors Bureau to plan a route that would link Railtown, Jamestown, Sonora, Columbia and possibly Twain Harte,” Grossi said. “The planned route might link with hotels, restaurants and other visitor attractions. Putting such a route in service would require supplemental funding and discretionary decisions by the Board of Supervisors and perhaps the Sonora City Council.”

The buses are designed to run year-round, Grossi noted, though, he added, it’s possible they might run only certain times of the year.

Grossi has heard his share of criticism regarding the purchase. He said he understands the negative reaction that “it doesn’t make sense to Joe Q. Public” to buy fancy buses when “people are being laid off.”

The county eliminated 99 positions in the upcoming fiscal year’s budget to help bridge a $16 million shortfall brought on by the loss of state revenue.

But the $383,000 in stimulus funding the county is using to purchase the two trolley-style buses could not be used to help bring back employees. In fact, the only thing the money could be used for is capital expenses.

Grossi noted that the county will not have to pitch in any money to purchase the buses.

According to Grossi, the county must replace two buses a year in its 30-bus fleet to keep it functional.

The county puts around 560,000 miles on its bus system a year, according to transit figures, translating to the replacement of two buses, if the life expectancy of roughly 250,000 miles each is taken into account.

Grossi acknowledged that the county’s buses are sometimes largely empty, but nonetheless, he said ridership is on the rise as the economy worsens, and sometimes it’s standing-room-only.

Grossi touched on another possible point of contention critics might have about the new buses: Tuolumne County has no history of trolleys or cable cars.

“They’re an attractive visitor amenity, but I’m sure folks in the historic community will laugh,” he said.

Sharon Marovich, head of the Tuolumne Heritage Committee, a historic preservation watchdog group, said she knows of no trolleys ever running in the county but wouldn’t have a problem with the new buses so long as they’re not garishly decked in advertisements.