March 18, 2019 • Local News
KFOX14 Investigates: Off the tracks, streetcar ridership plummets
Story Link: https://kfoxtv.com/news/kfox14-investigates/kfox14-investigates-off-the-tracks-streetcar-ridership-plummets
El Paso, TX — KFOX14 Investigates discovers El Paso streetcars ridership is on the decline.
Nearly empty streetcars can be seen rolling through downtown El Paso.
The streetcar, which got on track in November, saw 37,000 hop on board in the first month.
Shiny and new, the streetcar also attracted riders during the holidays and offered free fares during Winterfest. In December, 32,000 took a spin on the old trolleys.
But by January, the ridership dropped to about half of that, only about 14,000, when normal fares resumed.
In February, just under 9,000 took the trolley.
KFOX14 Investigates learned in the first four months of operation the streetcartook in about $19,000 in revenue.
The cost to operate the streetcar?
A little more than $900,000.
KFOX14Investigates has been asking the city for an interview on this for two weeks. We’ll bring you its response soon.
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