Three Case Studies
As we have seen in our previous
studies in this series, looking in some detail at specific operations can be
useful. Here, we will consider three different streetcar lines or systems,
each with different characteristics. The first, the McKinney Avenue Transit
Authority (MATA) in Dallas, Texas, represents Vintage trolleys run almost
entirely with volunteer labor. The second, in Memphis, Tennessee, is also a
Vintage trolley operation, but it is run by the local transit authority and
operated by transit system employees. Memphis also represents the use of
Vintage trolleys as precursors to Light Rail. Finally, we will examine the
new streetcar line in Portland, Oregon, which is operated with modern
streetcars. These three cases cover a sufficiently wide spectrum that any
city or town considering bringing back streetcars will find at least one
speaks to its own situation.
Dallas, Texas
The early history of the McKinney
Avenue trolley line holds some useful lessons for anyone interested in
bringing back streetcars. It is worth quoting at some length:
In 1981 a Dallas area along
McKinney Avenue, characterized by restaurants and specialty shops, was
being redeveloped. The effort included excavation and renovation of the
brick street paving. Removal of the asphalt revealed a double-track
streetcar line that appeared to be in generally sound condition. A local
businessman, with restaurant interests along this route, decided that
trolley service on that portion of McKinney Avenue would enhance both the
ambiance and commercial success of the redevelopment project. His
observation that, “Wouldn't it be nice to have some old streetcars running
down our street?” drew local media attention. After screening vintage
Dallas trolley movies (supplied by a local VT (Vintage Trolley)
enthusiast), the businessman organized MATA as a nonprofit
corporation-Section 50l(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code-to build and
operate the line. Two local trolley enthusiasts joined the board to
oversee technical aspects of the project.
The businessman funded a
professional feasibility study that supported the concept. He arranged pro
bono public relations and advertising services, conducted fund-raising
events, secured local business funding pledges, achieved city support, and
applied successfully for two UMTA construction grants. MATA’s early
initiatives addressed mainly political hurdles. The businessman headed a
small team that promoted MATA steadily before Dallas’ city government for
several years. This major effort finally produced the city’s official
endorsement and passage, in the Texas Senate, of a bill that limited the
liability of city-contracted private transport firms to that of the city
itself. Once these hurdles were cleared, MATA began to develop a physical
plant.13
That physical plant consisted of a
2.8 mile streetcar line, four vintage streetcars and a car barn. The total
cost was $5.5 million, and $3 million of that came from the private sector;
a $2.5 million Federal grant supplied the rest. The city of Dallas spent
about $200,000 for signs, pavement marking and traffic light relocation. All
the antique streetcars were privately donated or funded.
Photo: Van Wilkins
McKinney Avenue Transit Authority Streetcar.
Service began on July 22, 1989,
and it continues today. All operating costs have been privately funded. In
its first two years of operation, the McKinney Avenue streetcar had a daily
ridership load factor about double that of the surrounding bus system.14
In 1990, the trolley line carried 236,074 passengers and recovered 46% of
its costs from the farebox.15
In 1991, MATA faced a financial
crisis that led to its current structure as an almost all-volunteer
operation (it currently has three paid employees). The fact that the system
uses mostly volunteer labor is a principal reason why its operation requires
no public funding. Is it really practical to try to run a real transit
operation with volunteer labor? McKinney Avenue’s answer is a resounding
“Yes!” A detailed study of the line, published in 1992, notes:
MATA’s time sheets reveal that
two-thirds of the operating labor hours are volunteer. This volunteer
group includes the chief of cardiology at a major hospital, a retired
public utility chairman, a bus driver’s union president, educators,
business owners, wage earners and college students. Generally they are
reliable, motivated, and professional in demeanor. Their accident rate is
lower that that of MATA’s paid employees…MATA’s policy assigns each
volunteer to a specific task or project that is defined with specific
beginnings and completions. Once the volunteer is matched with the job,
they usually carry out the assignment with minimal supervision. The
volunteer has both the responsibility and the personal recognition for a
job well done. The key to volunteer motivation is organization, individual
responsibility, recognition, and praise.16
The same study, “McKinney Avenue
Transit Authority Experience,” by Frank A Schultz III and John B. McCall
(Transportation Research Record 1361), makes a number of other observations
that may be useful to cities or towns considering a Vintage trolley line:
In retrospect, choice of old
cars over replicas was the correct approach. The traditions of MATA’s
steel car body designs, one of which is nearly 90 years old, have proven
to be extremely reliable. It was the attraction of the genuine article
that drew the large, skilled volunteer restorative force that did much
of the work on the project. Even if the labor had been purchased, a
restored car would still have been less expensive than an estimated (in
1992) $450,000 reproduction car. With the volunteer force, the cost of
restoring a double-truck car was approximately $185,000. Additionally,
MATA has tied its promotion and marketing to “genuine antique
streetcars.”17
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Is it possible to use the old
streetcar rails which still lie under the asphalt on many city streets?
The study says, “MATA experience indicates that revival of abandoned track
in-place can be done at 10 percent of the cost of new track on a new
route.”18 Of course, in some instances the track was worn out
by the time regular streetcar service ended, and replacement rails will be
needed. But even if that is the case, a great deal of the expense of
utility line relocation can be avoided by using old streetcar
right-of-way.
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Is there a good book that can
guide a town or city in establishing a streetcar line? The study reaches
back into the past to recommend one: “For a project manager new to Vintage
Trolleys, a most useful reference is the Electric Railway Handbook by
Albert S. Richey, published by McGraw-Hill in 1924. Reprints of this
volume are available from the Association of Railway Museums.”19
Streetcars have now been running
on McKinney Avenue for more than a dozen years. Far from being a mere
tourist attraction, the line is in the process of becoming a formal part of
Dallas’ rail transit system. In 1996, Dallas’ DART transit system opened its
first Light Rail line. The McKinney Avenue streetcar line is now being
extended on each end to a stop on the Light Rail system. Passengers will be
able to transfer easily from Light Rail to streetcar, with the streetcar
performing the function it does best, carrying people to local destinations
within the city.
Still using almost entirely
volunteer labor, the McKinney Avenue streetcar runs seven days a week,
twelve hours a day (and later on weekends), 365 days a year. When the
extensions to DART are completed, streetcars will run every ten minutes
during peak demand hours. McKinney Avenue now has four antique streetcars in
service, with four more being rehabilitated. Last year it carried about
50,000 people. It gets not one dollar in taxpayer money for operation. The
one-mile extension on the north end is being built for the remarkably low
figure of $3.3 million.20
If you want to bring the
streetcars back to your town or city and don't have much money to do it
with, the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority offers a very good model. You
can contact them at (214) 855-0006. |
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