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Streetcar Desire
City hopes to launch downtown electric trolley service by year's end
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Business New Haven
9/4/2001
By: BNH
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A bright, shiny new electric trolley was the star of an August 28 press event at which New Haven city officials previewed a new trolley system scheduled for deployment late this year and early next.
The red-and-green pseudo-vintage vehicle, 22 feet in length with a 29-passenger capacity, is manufactured by a California company called Ebus. The city plans to purchase four of the vehicles at a cost of $250,000 each. The city is paying about $200,000 of the $1 million total purchase price, with the federal government picking up the rest of the tab.
Powered by nickel cadmium batteries, the trolleys have a range of about 100 miles between charges, with a maximum speed of about 40 miles per hour. They run quiet and clean, if the demo model in town that day is representative of the prospective New Haven fleet.
According to Mayor John DeStefano Jr., it is hoped to have one vehicle in service by the holiday season this year, with delivery of the other three slated for early 2002. The mayor said three would be in service at any given time, with one vehicle in reserve.
The trolleys are being sold to the public as an “alternate, more environmentally friendly mode of transportation for people traveling in downtown New Haven,” according to DeStefano. He also hopes the service “will ease traffic congestion downtown during peak business hours.”
Precise service routes have yet to be determined, according to city Development Administrator Henry Fernandez, although it is expected that the vehicles will ply downtown streets from State to Broadway, frequently servicing the College/Chapel retail district.
Riders will pay a yet-to-be determined fee, which DeStefano said would likely be 25 or 50 cents. Seniors, he emphasized, would ride for free.
DeStefano said the city explored installing traditional rail-line trolleys. The idea was rejected, he said, due to the much higher cost plus the flexibility of having trolleys able to travel on any paved surface. Groups may be permitted to rent the vehicles for functions, he added.
Hard to argue with a potential new tourist mini-attraction 80-percent paid for by Washington. Besides, the vehicle itself, according to Greater New Haven Convention & Visitors Bureau Executive Director Karolyn Kirchgesler, “It's cute.”
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