Schaumburg trolleys' future in doubt

Schaumburg's distinctive green trolleys serving the Woodfield shopping district could be down to their last Christmas season, but the immediate question is whether they've already seen their last summer.

Schaumburg trustees Tuesday voted to renew the trolleys' contract from Pace Suburban Bus from Oct. 1 through Jan. 10.

But they left in doubt whether a further renewal through Sept. 30, 2011, might soon take place.

Trustees made such a year-long renewal contingent upon Pace offering a significant reduction before Nov. 9 from the $356,655 cost expected for the entire year between Oct. 1, 2010, and Sept. 30, 2011.

The village board's current dilemma echoes one from last January, when it also debated the positive draw to the area that the trolleys represent versus their rising cost.

At that time, Senior Transportation Planner Richard Bascomb testified that he regularly got calls about the trolleys from out-of-town tour operators. One Milwaukee-based company told him flat out that the trolleys were the only reason it continued to bring visitors to Woodfield instead of Gurnee Mills.

Dave Parulo, interim president of the Woodfield Chicago Northwest Convention Bureau, said he understands the painful dilemma rising costs create in this economy, but that the trolleys taking shoppers to various stops throughout the commercial district have clearly demonstrated their appeal.

"We think the trolley is a great lure to attract visitors to the area," Parulo said.

His bureau is currently in the midst of a study of the trolleys' cost-effectiveness, but results are not yet available.

One issue that seemed to loom large last January was the suggestion that the trolley fleet - purchased through a federal grant in 2000 - might be down to the last year or two of its serviceable life.

If true, it meant a more long-term commitment to a replacement fleet might be hovering in the village and Pace's immediate future.

But Village Manager Ken Fritz said he'd recently been told that the current fleet could be rehabilitated for another four or five years of service if the village and Pace remain mutually interested.

Mayor Al Larson said he's always seen the trolleys as an investment in a business community that financially serves the overall village well.