Trolley service will make its way to Del Ray and Arlandria beginning this fall.
On Wednesday night at , Alexandria City Council unanimously approved a route that will send free, motorized trolley buses from King Street Metro north along Commonwealth Avenue, then turn right on Braddock Road and stop at Braddock Road Metro station. The trolley will then track back to Mt. Vernon Avenue, run north, make a left turn onto W. Glebe Road, right onto Russell Road and right back onto Mt. Vernon Avenue to return.
The first recommended route, initially released in March, terminated at W. Reed Avenue, short of the heart of Arlandria. At the time, members of . Councilmembers agreed in April and so staff could examine sending it into Arlandria.
On Wednesday, city staff recommended sending the trolley down West Street to Braddock Metro in what they strategized would be a cheaper route with more reliable headways.
Council moved to send it down Commonwealth Avenue instead.
Councilmembers argued that trolley service to Del Ray and Arlandria should be more focused on resident usage as opposed to use by tourists. They also said that headways shouldn’t be the driving factor in determining the route.
was on serving tourists who wanted an easy way to reach attractions and restaurants on Mt. Vernon Avenue.
“I see this as a very different kind of trolley service [than the King Street Trolley],” Councilman Paul Smedberg said. “You look at what’s between and it’s different.”
With a route selected, the city will start the process of selecting a contractor to provide and operate motorized trolleys on Mt. Vernon Avenue. The city owns the trolleys on the King Street line, which is operated by DASH. Different trolley buses will be used on the new line.
Councilman Rob Krupicka asked that city staff look into securing hybrid trolleys for this route to cut down on noise.
Alexandria Department of Transportation and Environmental Services chief Rich Baier said contracting hybrid buses is a possibility, but that he want to be mindful of the budget.
According to a city memo, the estimated annual cost of a route utilizing Commonwealth but not stopping at Braddock Metro is $850,000 annually. T&ES Deputy Director Abi Lerner said taking the trolley down Commonwealth and stopping at Braddock Metro will potentially increase headways, be cause to run another trolley on the route and add as much as $150,000 to the annual cost.
Funding will come from the city’s Transportation Improvement Program, which was established as part of the fiscal year 2012 budget when council dedicated 2.2 cents of the real estate property tax rate for transportation projects.
The city will monitor and measure ridership and other impacts of the trolley service, including its impact on DASH and local businesses.
Service is expected to begin in November. The trolley will operate on Thursdays and Fridays from 3 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., and on Saturdays and Sundays from 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Staff will try to utilize existing bus stops for the trolley service and install new signage.
The name of the line, which was the subject of some debate, will be “The Del Ray/Arlandria Trolley.” Councilmembers asked that Rosemont and other locations serviced by the trolley be mentioned on its exterior.
“Just wrap a banner around it that says this trolley will take you anywhere in the city,” Vice Mayor Kerry Donley joked.
Since it's being extended to Arlandria, it also seems silly to end service before shows at the Birchmere let out - I have several friends in the city without cars who would like to see more shows there, but find it a hassle to metro+cab, especially heading home, and who would absolutely have used something like this.
If at best, the new Del Ray/Arlandria Trolley gets 1/3 of the King Street Trolley ridership, that's 133,000 riders. If setting a $0.25 fare drops the ridership to 100,000 [my assumption], then it would only raise $25,000 in revenue to offset the costs. The projected cost by T&ES Deputy Director Abi Lerner for the Del Ray/Arlandria Trolley is $1,000,000 (which is $300,000 more than King Street Trolley). Option A [free/no $0.25 fare]: $1,000,000 divided by 133,000 riders = $7.52 per one way trip. (What's a taxi cost again?) Option B [with $0.25 fare] $975,000 divided by 100,000 riders (paying $0.25 each way) = $9.75 in subsidy per one way trip + $0.25 paid by the rider = $10.00 total cost per rider (again, this is just one way). So in fact, while the city 'saves' $25,000 by setting a $0.25 fare, the average subsidy per rider would increase due to the drop in ridership.
The memo states: "Establishing a West End Trolley would involve the following: ... Market, demand, and projected ridership analysis ... More detail cost and benefit evaluation" Why wasn’t such analysis and evaluation done for the Del Ray Trolley?
If I can do these back-of-the-envelope calculations in about ten minutes, why didn't City staff? My guess is the City staff did in fact do such analysis (at least informally) but didn’t publish them because the Council wanted the Trolley - facts be damned. After all, the Staff developed several alternatives, trying to preserve proper headways of 20 minutes or less while staying within the budget of $700,000 roughly allocated by the Council. And what did the Council do, but come up with their own route during the Council meeting. How backwards is this? "On Wednesday, city staff recommended sending the trolley down West Street to Braddock Metro in what they strategized would be a cheaper route with more reliable headways. Council moved to send it down Commonwealth Avenue instead. Councilmembers argued that trolley service to Del Ray and Arlandria should be more focused on resident usage as opposed to use by tourists. They also said that headways shouldn’t be the driving factor in determining the route." What is the point of a transportation planning department if the Council won't listen to them?