St. Louis Taxpayers Paid a Lot To Run a Money-Losing Streetcar. It Could Cost Them Even More To Shut It Down.
The Federal Transit Administration says St. Louis officials either need to get its Loop Trolley back up and running or return $37 million in federal funds.
In a paradox only the federal government could produce, St. Louis officials are having to decide whether they want to spend money reviving the city’s long-troubled, currently mothballed trolley line or lose even more money shutting it down permanently.
Late last month, media outlets reported on a letter that the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) sent St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones saying that local officials had until February to come up with a plan to get its 2.2-mile Loop Trolley back up and running or else return the $37 million in funds the federal government provided for the project.
This is only the latest setback in the long, sad saga of the St. Louis streetcar.
The trolley started operational life in 2018—six years behind schedule and about $10 million over budget. Neighboring businesses—which were supposed to be the primary beneficiaries of the new streetcar—complained that the inconvenience of the trolley’s construction was instead costing them customers.
When it did open, ticket sales brought only around 10 percent of expected revenue, almost immediately throwing the line into financial distress. Creative efforts to boost ridership, including a Friday-night Laugh Tracks service during which comedians performed 40-minute sets along the 2-mile route, produced about as many chuckles as it did new customers. – READ MORE
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