While providing empty buses for the occasional rider may be a worthwhile service for the very flush municipality, it is fiscally unreasonable for a strapped one.
Funds would more effectively be spent on serving the true mass transit system, that of streets, bridges, parking, and freeways.
Empty seats not paying the bill
Strapped RT weighs cuts for trolley, other little-used routes
By Tony Bizjak - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Friday, August 17, 2007
Here it comes, the loneliest bus in Sacramento County.
From morning to near sunset, the quaint No. 143 -- better known as the Downtown Trolley -- cruises crowded streets. Often its arrival is announced by a ringing bell or a loudspeaker.
Yet it rarely picks up passengers.
Launched several years ago with fanfare, high hopes and discount rates -- a buck a ride today -- the trolley has instead become the Little Bus That Couldn't.
A recent count by Regional Transit found the trolley, designed to replicate historic streetcars, averages just five passengers an hour, lowest among major Sacramento bus lines. Two suburban neighborhood shuttles, however, rank lower on the passenger count.
No surprise, this week the weekday No. 143 finds itself on RT's short list of about 20 bus routes countywide facing the budget ax.
RT is planning the service cuts now that it's clear the state will trim spending on public transportation. Farebox receipts also are less than expected.
