Photo by Todd Weddle / St. Joseph News-Press / Purchase this photo

Dust covers one of the two city trolleys that sit idle and covered in the transit parking lot. The trolleys, purchased in 1989, were last used in 2004.

St. Joseph’s historic trolleys won’t hit the Downtown streets anytime soon.

But at least they’re not leaving town.

City staff pitched an idea to City Council members last week to move the trolleys from the transit system to the Parks Department, where they will be stored for future use.

High costs and low ridership led the city to mothball its trolleys before the 2005 summer season. Last year a prospective buyer offered to pay $25,000 apiece for the vehicles. The city declined the bid, and last week’s decision ensures the trolleys will stay in St. Joseph for the near future.

“If the city doesn’t intend to use them in the next 10 years, sell them. If they will be used, let’s get them out of the transit system,” City Manager Vince Capell told council members.

The city currently lacks the money required to put the two vehicles and their high-mileage diesel engines in working order after almost five years in storage.

St. Joseph Transit Manager Kurt Janicek estimated it would cost about $10,000 to put the trolleys in shape suitable for occasional charter use or $30,000 to $50,000 to prepare them for daily duty.

“We still change the oil and maintain them, but an engine can break down on blocks,” Mr. Janicek said.

The city has spent about $4,500 per trolley per year to store and insure the vehicles since they were taken out of service.

A specific role for the trolleys has yet to be determined. Mr. Capell speculated they could be used to shuttle visitors between Downtown and the riverfront area near the Remington Nature Center. Council members discussed other possibilities, such as taking visitors in and out of Krug and Hyde parks during festivals to cut down on the amount of cars that clog the park roads.

In the past, the trolleys took visitors on tours of Downtown. Figures from 2004 showed that 69 percent of riders didn’t get off at the stops. They merely paid for a relaxing ride.

“We’ve been looking at moving them from transit for a while because it’s not a transit function,” Mr. Capell said. “We don’t use the trolleys like we use the buses.”

The city last operated the trolleys in 2004 between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The trolleys cost the city more than $40,000 to run and generated less than $2,500 in revenue. Mr. Janicek said the city’s bill worked out to $92.51 per passenger — not a moneymaker by any means.

“The cities that run the trolleys are doing it as a public service for tourism,” Mr. Janicek said. “They don’t really make money, but if we ever get Downtown running again, it would be a great place to run a trolley.”

Clinton Thomas can be reached at clintonthomas@npgco.com.