Mobile Mayor Spiro Cheriogotis’ vision of a trolley-filled future for Mobile drew pushback on Tuesday from a city council member who said the city should take a slower approach and determine whether its first half-dozen trolleys increase ridership before committing to additional purchases.

The discussion began during the council’s pre-conference meeting and continued during budget talks, where the Cheriogotis administration is seeking nearly $15 million to build out its new Second Line Transit System, scheduled to launch Sept. 27.

Of that amount, approximately $2 million would be a possible up-front allocation for trolleys that would be largely reimbursed later by the federal government.

“We brought on a new operator and haven’t really seen the results of their operation yet,” Councilman Ben Reynolds said, referring to New York-based Via Transit, which is taking over the city’s public transportation system following a contract approved by the council last year. “and then we are going head over heals in purchasing trolleys not only with the federal grant but with money set aside in the budget for additional trolleys.”

He added, “We should probably put the brakes on a bit.”

Reynolds argued the city should evaluate an initial rollout of rubber-tired trolleys before investing in a larger fleet.

The city already has one trolley, and five more could be added after the council voted Tuesday on a resolution allowing the city to apply for a $1.36 million Federal Transit Administration grant to purchase five trolley-style buses for the Second Line Transit fixed-route network. If awarded, the grant would require a $320,000 local match.

The first trolley, which arrived earlier this month, cost approximately $100,000 and was purchased with money remaining from a previous capital budget.

“If we see real results, we can come back to the table and say ‘trolleys work, let’s go get them,’” Reynolds said, urging an analysis of transportation expenditures the city is considering, including potential future support for Amtrak’s Mardi Gras Service between downtown Mobile and New Orleans.

Cheriogotis, however, said more trolleys are needed before officials can fairly determine whether they increase public transit use in Mobile.

The mayor, who has described himself as “obsessed” with trolleys and campaigned on bringing them to Mobile during last year’s mayoral race, has advocated replacing the city’s buses with what he describes as more nimble trolley-style vehicles.

“It would not be fair to judge the efficacy of trolleys based on six,” he said. “Six is not even replacing a fifth of our buses. We need to go further than that before we pause and take stock.”

Reynolds said he was uncomfortable with spending what he described as “a lot of money” on additional trolley purchases. During an afternoon Finance Committee meeting, he suggested the city may have more pressing priorities, such as improving mowing of roadsides and drainage ditches.

“There are areas in the budget that I think probably should get more money and we are forgoing that opportunity by doing some of this,” Reynolds said, referring to the city’s commitment to trolley purchases.

Reynolds was not the only council member with questions.

Councilwoman Samantha Ingram said she would like to see a comparative analysis of public transit ridership using smaller buses.

Cheriogotis said the capital investments associated with the new transit system extend beyond trolley purchases. He acknowledged the need to launch Via’s microtransit service, install new signage, and improve bus stops, though the total cost of those improvements remains unclear.

The mayor said it is critical for Second Line Transit to successfully launch its microtransit service using smaller vehicles and familiarize residents with the technology. The service, operated by Via Transit, will primarily rely on a cellphone app and provide what Cheriogotis described as more efficient curbside transportation.

Still, he said his long-term vision is to ultimately replace the larger Wave Transit buses with rubber-tired trolleys. He has also said he is open to accelerating that transition even if it means incurring federal penalties for retiring buses before the end of their federally recognized 12-year service life.

Cheriogotis argued that the trolleys would boost ridership because of their attractiveness and cited examples from other cities, including Kansas City and San Francisco.

He said the most significant benefit could be improved transportation access for workers who do not own a vehicle. He also noted Home Town Trolley, the company that manufactures the vehicles, has experienced a surge in sales.

According to Cheriogotis, the trolleys will carry as many passengers as larger buses while being better suited for Mobile’s older neighborhoods and tighter street corners.

He also said the vehicles could help address workforce challenges, citing Mobile Chamber statistics indicating that approximately 30% of the city’s workforce has been unable to access employment opportunities because of transportation limitations.

“If we are adding 5,000 to 6,000 jobs, we have to have those people,” Cheriogotis said.

Still, the mayor acknowledged that his belief in the future success of trolleys is largely a “gut” reaction based on examples from other cities rather than on any formal study.

One of those examples is Kansas City, whose streetcar system is often cited by transit advocates as a success. The KC Streetcar is an electric rail system that operates on tracks embedded in city streets. It opened in 2016 as a downtown line a little more than two miles long and was heavily subsidized by the federal government. It has since expanded by an additional 3-1/2 miles. Ridership has increased steadily, and the system does not charge fares.

The Kansas City service differs significantly from Mobile’s proposal, which does not include light rail. A rail system would require substantial infrastructure and federal funding to construct new tracks. Though Cheriogotis has not ruled out pursuing light rail options in the distant future, he said there were no plans to move in that direction right now because of the cost.

Reynolds said the Kansas City example is not a fair comparison.

“KC has a billion-dollar airport and a professional football team, it’s not comparable,” Reynolds said. “We are heavily reliant on using our own vehicles. Let’s see if the changes we already agreed and have been made, let’s see if they produce results. Then let’s have a smaller trolley space in downtown to the (new) airport. But to suggest we need a trolley riding around at Government and Azalea, I don’t know if that is required.”

©2026 Advance Local Media LLC.
Visit al.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.