Adieu, Salt Lake City trolleys. It's apparently back to the history books for you.
In a straw poll Tuesday night, the City Council voted 4-3 not to fund the buses with streetcar-type bodies in the 1994-95 budget. The decision leaves only the Utah Transit Authority and Trolley Square backing the program.That's not enough support to keep the trolleys rolling, said Bill Barnes, UTA spokesman.
"That would operate it for six weeks, and that's not adequate," Barnes said.
Entrepreneur Adnan Khassoghi first reintroduced trolleys to the city in 1984 in conjunction with development of the Triad Center. UTA took the trolleys over in 1986.
Initially, several entities agreed to pay for their operation: the city, area hotels, Trolley Square and the LDS Church. UTA covers about 37 percent of the trolleys' operating costs.
The trolleys have operated from Memorial Day to Labor Day, tracing a loop that ran from Trolley Square, the downtown area to nearby hotels. Riders paid 65 cents per ride or $1.25 for an all-day pass. In 1993, 40,000 people rode trolley cars, Barnes said.
In fact, though, only Little America Hotel ever contributed to the trolley fund, Barnes said. The hotel dropped its support after the city passed a 1 percent hotel tax in 1990; Little America vehemently opposed the tax.
The hotels' lack of support for the trolley program caused the city to rethink its contribution.
"The council felt that if the hotels weren't paying it, and it served their customers, then why were we providing the service if the hotels didn't feel it was valuable enough to fund," said Kerri Christenson Nakamura, City Council deputy director.
In 1992, the City Council indicated it would eliminate funding for the trolley program the following year. But last year the council settled on a one-year reprieve out of concern the city hadn't given adequate notice of its plans to drop support.
The council reduced its contribution and vowed 1993 would mark its final year of trolley funding.
With that in mind, the LDS Church made arrangements to set up its own street trolley system this year. Its trolley service will loop around Temple Square.
Mayor Deedee Corradini eliminated funding for the trolleys in her 1994-95 budget, acting on the mandate from the council last year. But she reconsidered when she learned that without city support, the program would die this year.
"The trolley is a good thing. Rather than let the whole thing drop, we ought to fund it one more year," Corradini said.
There's no doubt continued city support also would be seen as giving hotel owners something for the innkeepers' tax they pay, which Corradini has proposed increasing by 1 percent.
Corradini told the council Tuesday the Salt Lake Visitors and Convention Bureau and Downtown Alliance were willing to take on the task of finding long-term financial support for the trolleys - if the city would help keep them running this year.
Some council members quipped that if the city provided money to operate the trolleys this summer, it would "definitely" be the last time.
But in the end a majority of the council agreed with Council Member Roselyn Kirk, who said: "Last year was my last time."