Scottsdale trolley retirement

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OPINION — Reasons for not having trolleys in Scottsdale, based on observations:

• Other than the driver, the vehicles are empty over 80% of the time.
• No real protection from Arizona heat and sun as you stand roadside waiting for a ride.
• Trolley design is obsolete and does not reflect current city image.
• Total cost of ownership (driver/ benefits, initial capital investment, maintenance, insurance, litigation and pollution) has to be ridiculous considering poor utilization.

Potential free market solution:

• Auction the trolleys to some amusement park and develop a process to issue ride share vouchers for very limited usage, which would be more user friendly (will take the rider door-to-door), and should be infinitely more cost effective. 

It would be nice if the city reported on the total annual cost of trolley program and detailed rider usage, so we as taxpayers could determine if the time to retire Scottsdale trolleys has finally come.

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