Woodfield shopping area trolleys stay in service - for now

Schaumburg's iconic green trolleys serving the Woodfield shopping district were saved from the brink of extinction Tuesday night.

Nevertheless, their long-term future remains in doubt.

Some village trustees who attended a village board committee meeting Tuesday initially balked at the 5 percent cost increase presented by Pace Suburban Bus to continue operating the trolleys through September.

With ridership already down due to the financially necessary elimination of Monday through Thursday service last May, these trustees said the proposed cost increase was taking the service dangerously close to being a greater drain on resources than a boon.

But as the leaders of the village's transportation department said, and a couple other trustees argued, it's not quite at that point yet.

Senior Transportation Planner Richard Bascomb said he's still regularly called by companies who organize tours of out-of-town shoppers asking about the trolleys.

This week he was told by one tour operator from Milwaukee that the trolleys are the one and only reason it continues to go to Woodfield instead of Gurnee Mills.

Trustee Mark Madej urged his colleagues that it's too soon to give up on the trolleys while they still have more pros than cons.

Trustee George Dunham agreed.

"We talk about things that make Schaumburg unique and different," Dunham said. "The naysayers will always find something to complain about. But I think we've pared it back to the point it's manageable."

Dunham did question, however, whether the trolleys were the best possible vehicles for moving visitors between such sites as Woodfield, the convention center, IKEA and Roosevelt University.

Bascomb said it's true that more fuel-efficient vehicles might be found, but they should be built up and marketed to created the same brand image the trolleys have.

The current fleet was provided to Pace by a federal grant in 2000 and is reaching the end of its serviceable life. The question of how or if to replace it is looming anyway, regardless of other issues, Bascomb said.

The hourly rate increase from $89.92 to $94.42 will leave the village with a bill for $343.886.14 by the end of the contract on Sept. 30.

Ridership has dropped from about 100,000 rides per year when the trolleys operated daily to about 40,000 rides with only Friday through Sunday service.

Summer and the holiday shopping season remain the peak times of year, but Pace would drop the trolleys entirely if service were cut any further, Schaumburg Transportation Director June Johnson said.

Mayor Al Larson said the trolleys are one way the village invests in "the goose that lays the golden eggs" that is its Woodfield shopping district.

Trolley: Ridership has dropped to 40,000 per year