Some politicians kiss babies. Most cut ribbons. In Alabama, they show up at football games. In Mobile, they can often be spotted at a parade or two.

Few spend their nights dreaming about streetcars and trolleys.

Spiro Cheriogotis, the mayor of Mobile, is one of them. He readily admits he is “obsessed” with their look, charm, nostalgic appeal, and use as public transportation.

On Tuesday, he took that obsession a step further by taking his inaugural ride aboard the first rubber-tired trolley replica to serve downtown Mobile and making a bold pronouncement.

“I feel like a proud father who is holding his child for the first time,” Cheriogotis said.

“It’s everything I dreamed of,” the mayor continued, recalling his first impression of the new trolley. “Unlike the buses, you can lower the windows for those nice days in Mobile. It has the look and feel of a trolley. They are narrower, have a shorter wheelbase and are maneuverable on our streets.”

Mobile is not the first city to introduce a rubber-tire trolley replica. Alabama cities, including Montgomery and Tuscaloosa, have long operated similar vehicles in tourist and entertainment districts. In Tuscaloosa, buses designed to look like trolleys have been rolling since 2006 along seven routes and have routinely drawn 350,000 to 400,000 riders per year.

But Cheriogotis wants to take his fascination a step further. As Mobile transitions into a new era of public transportation under New York-based Via Transportation, he is advocating that the city’s entire fleet of more than 30 buses eventually be replaced with rubber-tire trolley replicas.

He’s even delaying plans to rewrap the existing buses with Second Line Transit branding, instead opting for temporary decals bearing a preview message: “Second Line Trolley Coming Soon.”

Second Line Transit is replacing the Wave Transit System with the official start date set for Sept. 28.

The timeline for a complete conversion of buses to trolleys is planned for completion before the end of the mayor’s first term in 2029, though Cheriogotis acknowledges the goal may not be attainable.

“It’s probably pie-in-the-sky,” he said. “It’s a good benchmark and we’ll keep shooting at it.”

Replacing buses, one trolley at a time

With a “Streetcar Named Desire”-like appeal, the mayor is also teasing a more ambitious idea: the eventual return of rail streetcars to Mobile.

If a wealthy benefactor ever emerged willing to fund the concept, Cheriogotis said, he would welcome a modern streetcar system rolling through a portion of the city.

For now, the mayor is focused on having the rubber-tire replicas rolling through all of Mobile.

“I want that person who lives in Mobile or who is visiting Mobile who never thought about utilizing public transit, to see one of those trolleys and say, ‘where is that going?’” Cheriogotis said. “I want them to re-evaluate their personal perspective on public transit and see it as a real option for them.”

Transportation experts are skeptical that rubber-tire trolley replicas are the answer, arguing that public officials should take a more measured and forward-looking approach to transit planning. Some suggest investing in improved bus stops, preparing for autonomous vehicles or expanding electric microtransit options.

“The city needs to articulate what unique benefits these trolley buses can achieve that standard buses cannot,” said Joel Mendez, a professor within the urban planning program at the University of Kansas, who has weighed in on transportation issues nationwide.

He said he cannot recall an instance of a city replacing its entire conventional bus fleet with trolley replicas, calling it a “highly unusual move.”

“One can argue that trolley buses bring a certain charm that can initially attract new riders,” Mendez said. “However, the same effect could be achieved by gradually transitioning to more modern buses as the existing fleet naturally ages out. This would be a more standard, lower-risk approach that could allow a city to avoid a massive upfront investment.”

Cheriogotis emphasizes that the city is not pursuing an expensive systemwide replacement all at once. Instead, he envisions a gradual transition in which aging Wave Transit buses are replaced with trolley replicas over time.

The strategy could begin with federal assistance.

The Mobile City Council will vote next week on a resolution allowing city staff to apply for a $1.36 million Federal Transit Administration grant to purchase five trolley-style buses for Second Line Transit’s fixed-route network. If awarded, the grant would require a $320,000 local match.

The five trolley vehicles will replace traditional buses as Via implements planned route consolidations.

Council weighs costs and benefits

Council members appear receptive to adding trolley-style vehicles, though some are urging caution.

The first trolley reportedly cost the city approximately $100,000, paid for with money left over from a previous capital budget.

“I think having trolleys on wheels in certain areas is a positive,” said Councilman Cory Penn. “When you think of public transit, most of the people using it, there is a need. We want to make sure we provide that need to the residents. But we can still meet the needs of residents while providing the opportunity for people to enjoy the trolley on wheels.”

Penn said the vehicles could attract riders willing to pay a fare for service between downtown Mobile and the University of South Alabama along Old Shell Road.

“But at the same time, financially, we want to make sure we do what we’re supposed to do,” Penn said. “Can we sell the larger buses? We need a balance to both. We have to provide a resource to the people who need it the most.”

Cheriogotis said there are financial penalties the city could face if it divests buses before they reach the end of a 12-year federally recognized service life.

“The goal is to, over time, divest ourselves of the buses so that it does not negatively impact the funding for transit, does not require the city return funding for the sale of the vehicle,” he recently told council members. “We will be willing to do that in the right case, but the truth is, we have to replace these buses over time with trolleys, identify grants and other opportunities so it doesn’t come from our general operating fund to do that.”

Still, the mayor recently indicated he would consider accepting penalties if doing so accelerated the transition.

“If the right circumstance presents itself, I’m not saying we are not willing to do that,” Cheriogotis said. “If we get federal funding through a grant for five trolleys and it leads us to selling five buses before their useful life, with the bulk of the money going to the federal government, it might be a fair exchange.”

Councilman Ben Reynolds said the broader cost of transit will remain a major consideration.

“We are spending a good chunk of money on transit and I’d be curious what the full transit costs are across all assets, Amtrak, buses and Via and stuff like that,” he said. “At some point, we can only pay so much and hold so much on a balance sheet for transit. I hope the mayor and the administration have their eye on the ball to value these things holistically.”

The streetcar dream

Light rail is likely not part of Mobile’s immediate future, though Cheriogotis is unwilling to completely abandon the idea.

The prospect of a streetcar system returning to Mobile, where streetcars disappeared decades ago, would require an investment far beyond the city’s financial reach.

Cheriogotis said the concept is not “off the table,” but added a reality check.

“The city is nowhere near having a billion dollars to invest or lay down track and create electric components,” he said. “It’s not feasible now. In 30 years, who knows?”

Since the early 2000s, more than a dozen U.S. cities have launched modern streetcar systems, often with federal assistance. Results have been mixed, though the most recent examples suggest they come with costly price tags. Supporters frequently point to Kansas City and Portland as successes, while critics cite St. Louis, where a streetcar line ceased operations in 2019 after only one year of service due to low ridership. It resumed service in 2022 after federal officials threatened to require repayment of construction grants if the trolley wasn’t restarted.

In Omaha, plans for a streetcar line serving the city’s tourism and entertainment districts have been in the works for more than two decades. The Omaha Streetcar, a project expected to cost more than $400 million, is scheduled to begin service in 2028.

Eric Miller, Omaha’s streetcar operations manager, said the system’s success will depend on connecting destinations people already want to visit.

“The recipe for success is connecting major draws and where people are going and in a way that makes sense so people can kind of easily figure it out,” Miller said. “And not have a confusing route.”

Experts urge caution

The potential costs associated with rail transit should give Mobile pause, according to David Ditch, a policy analyst with the Cato Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.

“Streetcars had their time,” he said. “There are some select places like San Francisco where they are a tourist attraction and represent history. I would say as a general principle, the reasons why cities in America and around the world moved to buses and away from streetcars is that they are more flexible and accessible than trolleys. The fact the mayor is viewing fixed tracks as an ambition and a long-term goal makes it even worse.”

Ditch said that streetcar ridership tends to be modest while requiring significant taxpayer subsidies. A 2024 Cato Institute analysis found the average U.S. streetcar trip, which was less than two miles long, required nearly $10 in taxpayer subsidies. According to the report, fare revenue covered less than $1 per trip.

In St. Louis, the Cato Institute estimates the trolley line transported an average of two riders per hour. The operating cost per passenger was at around $154, suggesting it would be cheaper to provide passengers with chauffeur-driven limousine rides than to continue operating the streetcar line.

“When a city has a fleet of buses, buying a new set of streetcars would be a tremendous expense,” Ditch said. “Most likely, ridership goes down. Then that expense of buying streetcars is going to get into the cost of living within the city. It will be insidious and invisible, but the cost will be there. People will be paying for it.”

Some critics are even more forceful in their opposition.

“There are modern trolleys on rubber tires that are electric and if the mayor wants to look at that, fine,” said Tom Rubin, an independent transportation consultant based in Oakland, California.

“They are not fully developed technically, but they are well worth looking at,” Rubin added. “But to put down rail or an electric catenary up is dumber than dirt. Anyone who brings it up, I suggest you ... put tar and feather on them and escort them to the town limits.”

Cheriogotis, who was elected mayor last August, does not expect a billionaire benefactor to suddenly emerge. But he said he would gladly answer the phone if one did. He is even asking anyone globally to contact him via email to discuss his lofty streetcar renaissance ideas.

“I would not be opposed to light rail,” he said. “If I had a benefactor anywhere in the world who is very interested in public transportation who wanted to come in and invest a billion dollars in infrastructure to get a light rail system going in Mobile, I am here to talk about it.”

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