Tourism service put on hold after one year
Marysville and Union County tourism and economic development officials are trying to determine the fate of the city’s Uptown Trolley Service.
“Right now, we are reevaluating it to make certain there is support for such a trolley,” Union County Economic Development Director Eric Phillips said.
Last year, those wanting to could ride the trolley from the hotels on the city’s east side to the city’s Uptown area.
Jason R. Stanford, development services manager for Union County, said people miss the service.
“We have had a lot of comments, ‘Where is it?’” Stanford said.
The trolley service was a partnership between Union County, the City of Marysville, Marysville schools, economic development groups and several local hotels and businesses.
“It was a great partnership,” Phillips said.
Stanford said not everyone saw it that way. Phillips said the reviews and reports were “mixed.”
“The hotels, unfortunately, didn’t see the value of that so we lost their financial support for the program,” Stanford recently told the Union County Commissioners. “That’s why we didn’t bring it back this summer.”
Phillips said between April and October, the trolley had a total of 537 riders, 242 of them headed to one of the supporting hotels.
According to information provided by Stanford, the trolley received $6,417, about 44 percent of the program’s 2016 funding through the hotels. The remainder of the program’s funding came from city and county contributions. For the season, the trolley program had a deficit of nearly $800, which was covered by the Conventions and Visitors Bureau.
Economic development officials budgeted about $4,000 less for drivers for the 2017 season. They also budgeted for additional revenue to come from advertising.
When the hotels pulled out of the partnership, however, officials decided to put the program on pause.
“We thought it was a success in that it brought attention to the Uptown,” Phillips said.
He said that while the attention is good, “ridership is important.”
He said an upcoming meeting will examine the future of the trolley.
“Is there a way to bring it back? And if we do, what will that look like?” Phillips asked.
Stanford said the trolley could become more of a Park-and-Ride or be used for special events.
“We have got to figure out exactly how to fund that and see really what the value of the trolley is,” Stanford said.
Phillips said getting more riders is important. He said that as more people use the service, more people will become aware of it. He said there is a lot of out-of-town patrons staying at Marysville hotels during the week.
“Part of the issue is promotion and letting people know what’s going on,” Phillips said.
Regardless of the trolley’s future, Phillips said the community needs to have some form of public transportation.
“At some point, Marysville is going to need something as it continues to grow,” Phillips said.
He added, “We just don’t know the right fit for the community.”