00625619

Component

http://onlinepubs.trb.org...trr/1992/1361/1361-049.pdf

https://scholar.google.co...Call&publication_year=1992

Dallas' McKinney Avenue Transit Authority (MATA) was an early participant in the growing renaissance of vintage trolley systems in the United States. With a majority of its construction funding--and all of its operating subsidy--sourced in the private sector, MATA is perhaps singular in its public/private relationship. For more that 2 years, four vintage trolley cars have been maintained and operated over nearly 3 mi of reclaimed city trolley trackage by a largely volunteer labor force. This experience has application to present or planned vintage trolley and light rail operations. Promoted by commercial property owners adjacent to its route, MATA secured endorsements from city and state governments, as well as a federal construction grant, and began operation on a daily schedule in July 1989. The start-up process of construction, maintenance, personnel management, and initial operation revealed both unique opportunities and special problems that are associated with realization of an operating vintage trolley system. Farebox revenues have been influenced by both seasonal factors and economic trends that have not been sufficient to cover system costs. Hindsight reveals that MATA's initial route plan fell short of an important traffic generator that would have significantly improved system results. During 1991, a 2-year federal operating grant to supplement declining private-sector subsidy and reduced revenues was indefinitely forestalled. Failure to fully comply with Federal grant regulations, positions taken by employees of Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), as well as the intrinsic nature of MATA's operation created this result. As a result, in fall 1991, MATA eliminated all but one part-time paid employee, reduced its operating schedule to evenings and weekends, and began to cope with the problems created by deferred maintenance.

This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1361, Light Rail Transit: Planning, Design, and Operating Experience (Papers presented at the Sixth National Conference on Light Rail Transit, held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, May 24-27, 1992). Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved

01405036

English

p. 349-354

1992

Transportation Research Record

0309054001

Bus transit; Deferred maintenance; Federal aid; Finance; Financing; Light rail transit; Operating costs; Private enterprise; Revenues; Subsidies; Trolleybuses

Dallas (Texas)

Dallas (Texas)

Finance; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation

TRIS, TRB

Dec 22 1993 12:00AM