^ It’s all good haha.
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I didn't miss that.sc4mayor wrote: ↑Aug 26, 2021Did ya’ll miss the part of the article that said rides would be free for four days a week for two years?
But it's also just four days a week for only two years.
I'm merely stating that I hope the trolley can figure out a way to either be a.) part of the existing Metrolink fare system, or b.) free on all days going forward.
^ I was under the impression it was only going to run four days a week meaning it would still be free the whole time. Seems kinda pointless to run it on a Monday with a fare. No one will use it.
Free Thursday thru Sunday could draw some riders tho…
Free Thursday thru Sunday could draw some riders tho…
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Apologies if this has been litigated already, but I personally think the entire WED - Saturday with service ending at 9pm was the fatal flaw for this project. You had to run every day of the week and you need to run later than 9pm. That is when the Loop is starting to activate Thurs - Saturday. Like any business, if you have weird hours people aren't going to use your service.
While I know that there is widespread criticism about the "non-connectivity" I always saw this experiment as the potential launch pad for a lindell - olive to downtown streetcar line that made a circle around the park pacific building and park.
While I know that there is widespread criticism about the "non-connectivity" I always saw this experiment as the potential launch pad for a lindell - olive to downtown streetcar line that made a circle around the park pacific building and park.
^^The trolley will run Thursday through Sunday, and it'll be free Monday through Wednesday.
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Agreed that making it free 24/7 is crucial. They desperately need to have success with ridership to show the public whether the trolley has any public value. The PR has been a nightmare and every cent of the. Fed $ should be going to spike ridership to convince people it’s a useful thing. If they fail to do that because they were trying to nickel and dime on the weekends, they’ll deserve all the criticism coming their way.urbanitas wrote:^^The trolley will run Thursday through Sunday, and it'll be free Monday through Wednesday.
And yeah, the trolley has to run until the bars close on the Loop. Anything less and it can never be considered a neighborhood amenity, nor will it be used nearly as much as if a Pershing Ave resident can hop on the Trolley to Three Kings.
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"And yeah, the trolley has to run until the bars close on the Loop. Anything less and it can never be considered a neighborhood amenity, nor will it be used nearly as much as if a Pershing Ave resident can hop on the Trolley to Three Kings."
This is what i'm talking about. I will actually tell you we had a large group of people in 2018 going to Eclipse roof that wanted to use the Trolley. And it wasn't running at 930pm. Can guarantee you those 30 people have not tried to ride it again.
This is what i'm talking about. I will actually tell you we had a large group of people in 2018 going to Eclipse roof that wanted to use the Trolley. And it wasn't running at 930pm. Can guarantee you those 30 people have not tried to ride it again.
I won’t pay to use it on the weekends, I don’t think most will. It should be free when the most people are down there.
We all know they are just trying to run it the bare minimum so they don't have to return the money to the feds.
^ Good. I still don’t get the thought process of people who don’t wanna see another dime spent on the trolley but think the region can turn around and afford to cut a $25+ million dollar check to the Feds.
Probably don’t understand that aspect of thingssc4mayor wrote:^ Good. I still don’t get the thought process of people who don’t wanna see another dime spent on the trolley but think the region can turn around and afford to cut a $25+ million dollar check to the Feds.
This may be naivety but could they just make it free to drive demand so it becomes functional, and eventually pedestrianize delmar so it becomes faster and more integrated into the loop.
I’ve always loved the loop and I feel like taking cars away would really push it to the next level
I’ve always loved the loop and I feel like taking cars away would really push it to the next level
If not mistaken that’s the plan free the first two years.UrbanW5 wrote:This may be naivety but could they just make it free to drive demand so it becomes functional, and eventually pedestrianize delmar so it becomes faster and more integrated into the loop.
I’ve always loved the loop and I feel like taking cars away would really push it to the next level
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Not every day and not during the high demand days. They have a PR nightmare that can only really be solved by proving the utility of their cars and it won’t happen if they can’t entice people to give it a chance.JJ Rivera wrote:If not mistaken that’s the plan free the first two years.UrbanW5 wrote:This may be naivety but could they just make it free to drive demand so it becomes functional, and eventually pedestrianize delmar so it becomes faster and more integrated into the loop.
I’ve always loved the loop and I feel like taking cars away would really push it to the next level
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This plan blows my mind. The trolley doesn't have nearly enough utility to justify paying to ride it. Even before the pandemic when the trolley was never free, the amount of money it made from fares was completely negligible.
Nobody will pay to use this thing to commute, nobody will pay to use it to get around when walking is just as fast. I consider myself a trolley supporter, but they really need to acknowledge what the trolley is: A fun ride through an entertainment district. An experience that enhances makes the Loop experience. A cool amenity for those who live nearby.
I used to live on Clara and had it been free my fiance and I certainly would have taken it to the Loop to spend money on a regular basis. With a $4 a person round trip fare and no monthly passes? Pass, we will just drive and park for free (and not necessarily go to the Loop)
The DeBaliveire Place (and the western part of Skinky-D) is a great area but pretty short on nightlife, restaurants, and cafes. Granted that will probably change with the new developments, but just allowing residents along the line to ride the trolley for free would have driven a lot of trips to the Loop.
Nobody will pay to use this thing to commute, nobody will pay to use it to get around when walking is just as fast. I consider myself a trolley supporter, but they really need to acknowledge what the trolley is: A fun ride through an entertainment district. An experience that enhances makes the Loop experience. A cool amenity for those who live nearby.
I used to live on Clara and had it been free my fiance and I certainly would have taken it to the Loop to spend money on a regular basis. With a $4 a person round trip fare and no monthly passes? Pass, we will just drive and park for free (and not necessarily go to the Loop)
The DeBaliveire Place (and the western part of Skinky-D) is a great area but pretty short on nightlife, restaurants, and cafes. Granted that will probably change with the new developments, but just allowing residents along the line to ride the trolley for free would have driven a lot of trips to the Loop.
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Right. I have to imagine it would almost be more profitable just to use the trolley as a driver of sales to get increased tax revenues. But I’m sure making it free all the time is a no go out of a fear of free riders camping on it.GoHarvOrGoHome wrote:This plan blows my mind. The trolley doesn't have nearly enough utility to justify paying to ride it. Even before the pandemic when the trolley was never free, the amount of money it made from fares was completely negligible.
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To avoid the problem of people riding it all day long, people should just be forced off of the trolley at its two terminuses.
That's what a lot of public transportation systems do.
That's what a lot of public transportation systems do.
Yep! Whoever stays and gives trouble after lets say 3 violations you ban for life or something.KansasCitian wrote:To avoid the problem of people riding it all day long, people should just be forced off of the trolley at its two terminuses.
That's what a lot of public transportation systems do.
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^ I don't even think it'll come to that. For one, I don't think you'll have too many people just camping out on it. And two, like KCian says, it wouldn't be difficult for the operator to simply ask them to disembark at the end of the line.
I feel like the complaint of people camping on transit is completely over exaggerated compared to the reality
I wanted to ride it more than I was able to. The problem for me was not knowing when the next trolley was going to be at a particular station. It could be 5 minutes or 50. I feel this unpredictability played a part in its underuse. You could ride it to a restaurant in the loop but no way to plan your return.
A real time app would’ve been useful.
A real time app would’ve been useful.
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Yes. Such a no brainer. A major failure of the system. One of the arguments for bistate taking it over (or just have them share their timing through the transit app).imran wrote:I wanted to ride it more than I was able to. The problem for me was not knowing when the next trolley was going to be at a particular station. It could be 5 minutes or 50. I feel this unpredictability played a part in its underuse. You could ride it to a restaurant in the loop but no way to plan your return.
A real time app would’ve been useful.
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^This ties in to the overall inconsistency of the original schedule. Having been to many Euro cities - the street car is reliable. I only used the streetcar in my last visit to Milan. My hotel even sold the tickets at the front desk, which the Eclipse should do (or hand them out at this point). Get those visitors on the Loop Shuttle. When you have inconsistent hours, that do not address peak need, with inconsistent pickup times it makes it nearly impossible to ride. When they shut down they said "we overestimated ridership". What they actually did was brutally mismanage the schedule.
sure this was always a bit of a gimmick. but even then it HAS to have some value as a schedule based people mover. Even if they make it free, if they don't change the schedule and make pickup/dropoffs on a schedule then it will not gain any momentum.
sure this was always a bit of a gimmick. but even then it HAS to have some value as a schedule based people mover. Even if they make it free, if they don't change the schedule and make pickup/dropoffs on a schedule then it will not gain any momentum.
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StlToday - Regional board to decide soon on new federal grant to restart Loop Trolley
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/gov ... e9e1b.html
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https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/gov ... e9e1b.html
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