UNIVERSITY CITY, MO (KMOX) - Shut down since late December, the Loop Trolley could roll again this spring and summer, if Trolley supporters get their way.
Trolley backer Joe Edwards of Blueberry Hill says there's enough money in the Transportation Development District fund to restart the Trolley this spring.
The plan calls for running the trains Thursdays through Sundays for the next several months.
Edwards says with the arrival of a third trolley car, the trains could run on time because if one breaks down the other two cars could continue passenger service.
During the summer, Edwards says he'd like to see the Bi-State Development board reconsider taking over the Loop Trolley. The board turned down the idea a few months ago, with some board members from Illinois saying it wasn't proper to spend money on the two-mile Trolley route that runs from the History Museum to the U-City Loop.
If Bi-State were to take over the Trolley, Edwards says the transit agency could possibly spend $1.9 million in federal "flex" funds on the Trolley, enough money, he says, to keep it running for four years.
By the end of four years, Edwards hopes that sponsorships, advertising and passenger revenue would make the Trolley self-sustaining.
"A handful of people have put out so much negative information that other people started to believe it," Edwards said. "I think St. Louis has that tendency. And the Trolley's really taken a lot of heat over the past couple of years."
Edwards says the Transportation Development District Board still has to vote on the plan. If approved, they would ask the Loop Trolley company to vote on re-starting the trains for the spring and summer.
The Trolley shut down at the end of December, hobbled by breakdowns, low ridership and money problems.