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Trolley expands, for a price
North Napa loop designed to entice tourists to take
a ride downtown
a ride downtown
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CommentThe Napa Downtown Trolley is stepping out, with evening runs to north Napa hotels and the lively shopping and dining scene at Bel Aire Plaza.
At the same time, after six years of offering free rides, the trolley will today start charging fares to anyone who boards outside downtown.
At the same time, after six years of offering free rides, the trolley will today start charging fares to anyone who boards outside downtown.
The Napa Downtown Association, which has subsidized trolley operations since 2004, requested these changes last year to make the trolley more attractive to tourists and less of a financial obligation.
Extending service up California Boulevard to the Marriott Napa Valley on Solano Avenue will encourage tourists to come downtown to shop and dine, said Craig Smith, the association’s executive director.
Extending service up California Boulevard to the Marriott Napa Valley on Solano Avenue will encourage tourists to come downtown to shop and dine, said Craig Smith, the association’s executive director.
Downtown merchants want the trolley to serve more of the ridership for which it was created: Napa Valley visitors. The association subsidizes trolley operations to the tune of nearly $50,000 annually.
Trolley service to north Napa started without fanfare on Aug. 3. The operator, the Napa County Transportation and Planning Agency, began running ads last week to promote the service.
Trolley service to north Napa started without fanfare on Aug. 3. The operator, the Napa County Transportation and Planning Agency, began running ads last week to promote the service.
Marriott general manager Michael George predicted that the trolley would be popular with his guests. “I think they’ll love it,” he said.
Rather than have to get into their cars, guests will be able to have a chauffeured trip to and from downtown without having to worry about parking, getting lost or driving after sharing a bottle of wine, he said.
Service to north Napa runs five nights a week starting after 6 p.m. On Fridays and Saturdays, the trolley will run an extra hour, until 10:30 p.m. There is no service Monday and Tuesday evenings.
Merchants will be giving tokens to the Marriott and the Hilton Garden Inn so that hotel guests, their most desired audience, can ride for free.
Anyone else who boards outside downtown and the Oxbow District will have to pay standard VINE bus fares: $1.25 per adult, $1 for youths and 60 cents for seniors and those with disabilities.
Some 55,000 people ride the trolley annually, which is more than three of the VINE’s seven local routes, NCTPA reported last year.
It’s unknown how charging fares will affect local ridership, said Deborah Brunner, the NCTPA’s senior transportation planner. Unable to ride the trolley for free, some locals may opt for VINE buses, she said.
Trolleys will now run every 45 minutes during the day on a route that covers the Oxbow District, downtown and Napa Premium Outlets, with a swing through Old Town. The old frequency was every 30 minutes.
The new evening trolley will run every 30 minutes, with no service to Old Town.
Some residents, including employees, will choose the trolley to get from central Napa to Bel Aire Plaza in the evening, Brunner said. The trolley runs later than VINE buses.
The annual cost of running the trolley, which is part of the VINE system, is approaching $300,000. NCTPA expects fares to provide 16 percent of operating costs.
The remaining 84 percent of VINE and trolley expenses comes from the quarter-cent statewide sales tax set aside for transit.
For more information, go to www.NapaValleyVINE.net/Trolley.
Rather than have to get into their cars, guests will be able to have a chauffeured trip to and from downtown without having to worry about parking, getting lost or driving after sharing a bottle of wine, he said.
Service to north Napa runs five nights a week starting after 6 p.m. On Fridays and Saturdays, the trolley will run an extra hour, until 10:30 p.m. There is no service Monday and Tuesday evenings.
Merchants will be giving tokens to the Marriott and the Hilton Garden Inn so that hotel guests, their most desired audience, can ride for free.
Anyone else who boards outside downtown and the Oxbow District will have to pay standard VINE bus fares: $1.25 per adult, $1 for youths and 60 cents for seniors and those with disabilities.
Some 55,000 people ride the trolley annually, which is more than three of the VINE’s seven local routes, NCTPA reported last year.
It’s unknown how charging fares will affect local ridership, said Deborah Brunner, the NCTPA’s senior transportation planner. Unable to ride the trolley for free, some locals may opt for VINE buses, she said.
Trolleys will now run every 45 minutes during the day on a route that covers the Oxbow District, downtown and Napa Premium Outlets, with a swing through Old Town. The old frequency was every 30 minutes.
The new evening trolley will run every 30 minutes, with no service to Old Town.
Some residents, including employees, will choose the trolley to get from central Napa to Bel Aire Plaza in the evening, Brunner said. The trolley runs later than VINE buses.
The annual cost of running the trolley, which is part of the VINE system, is approaching $300,000. NCTPA expects fares to provide 16 percent of operating costs.
The remaining 84 percent of VINE and trolley expenses comes from the quarter-cent statewide sales tax set aside for transit.
For more information, go to www.NapaValleyVINE.net/Trolley.
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skippert wrote on Sep 3, 2008 6:54 AM:
Rich wrote on Sep 3, 2008 8:08 AM:
Dwayne wrote on Sep 3, 2008 8:18 AM:
It takes more than surf to create a successful tourist industry... Cater to the locals, and the locals will be glad to see the tourists come... Cater to the tourists, and the locals resent them...
Napa planners: The rewards are huge for giving more than you get... Too bad you don't understand that philosophy...
Your focus is in the wrong place.... "
ruiz94558 wrote on Sep 3, 2008 8:23 AM:
napachica wrote on Sep 3, 2008 8:25 AM:
musikluvr wrote on Sep 3, 2008 8:27 AM:
This community has clearly stated that the waste of $200,000 per year to run this trolley is intolerable - but it goes on.
The trolley is run by the NCTPA ,a ghost layer of government unapproachable by the voters and totally removed from oversight by the community.
This is the same group that several months ago tried to sell us a 1/2 cent sales tax increase on the pretext that it would fix roads - then lost their nerve because they had to admit that the issue was really politics instead of roads. "
eas001 wrote on Sep 3, 2008 8:46 AM:
marine1/1 wrote on Sep 3, 2008 8:55 AM:
napachica wrote on Sep 3, 2008 9:03 AM:
NapaNana wrote on Sep 3, 2008 9:24 AM:
I have yet to see ANY tourists on the money gobbling trolleys........Who's idea was it anyway (ie.downtown oxbow idiots) to dump our tax $$ into this great white elephant of a joke? Let them foot the bill....and to start charging for "out ot downtown" riders...should have thought of that a long time ago.
Sell the stupid things......burn them.....whatever. They are just a Money pit....some big shots dream.....or more like a nightmare. "
darkstar wrote on Sep 3, 2008 9:47 AM:
I don't believe for a minute that there are 55,000 riders annually and that the cost per rider is much higher. If the Downtown Merchants want to subsidise the cost of getting tourists from the hotels to downtown let them offer free cab rides. It would be much more environmentally friendly than having the trolleys constantly circling town and burning fuel. Cheaper, too. Sell the trollies!!! Fix the streets. Let the Downtown Trollies go the way of the Clocktower and Fountian. "
angrytoo wrote on Sep 3, 2008 9:53 AM:
napadad wrote on Sep 3, 2008 10:13 AM:
mominapa wrote on Sep 3, 2008 10:21 AM:
mominapa wrote on Sep 3, 2008 10:25 AM:
db76 wrote on Sep 3, 2008 12:10 PM:
musikluvr wrote on Sep 3, 2008 12:15 PM:
wined0wnnapa wrote on Sep 3, 2008 12:39 PM:
if you can't beat 'em... wrote on Sep 3, 2008 1:18 PM:
royrodgers wrote on Sep 3, 2008 1:33 PM:
" Do you think Mr. Rogers had to pay to ride the trolley? "
Only if they allow concealed arms, then I'm locked and loaded on board! Speaking of loaded they should make a stop at the Ren Hen as there are way too many diners driving outta there totally wasted. "
ds_granny911 wrote on Sep 3, 2008 3:18 PM:
elb wrote on Sep 3, 2008 4:13 PM:
The trolley isn't a car, ya know! It's obnoxious and since our children are now going to have to worry about the stupid trolley passing through every forty-five minutes to an hour... I think WE should get some of that cash you're now sporting on our account!
I hate the trolley! It's always empty when I see it, so how they've managed to cart about 55,000 people in a year is beyond me! "
napan007 wrote on Sep 3, 2008 4:39 PM:
NAPA66 wrote on Sep 3, 2008 5:11 PM:
sotto voce wrote on Sep 3, 2008 5:40 PM:
Who is minding the store here?
!!DUH!! "
Dwayne wrote on Sep 3, 2008 6:15 PM:
It's about the people who do the trolley planning, and the clock planning, one way streets, and allow merchants to just leave town and board up their stores....
The downtown failure is the result of a mentality that has the wrong focus... "
WorksInNapa wrote on Sep 3, 2008 8:36 PM:
musikluvr wrote on Sep 3, 2008 9:17 PM:
The answer is that we can't. It is run by this group called NCTPA which is a group of bureaucrats who have a 1/4 cen sales tax ($3 Million a year) that we can't touch because it is mandated by the state. It is run by some guy who lives in Santa Rosa and commutes every day to Napa. He could obviously care less about Napa. Oh, and there are some local elected people who sit on the NCTPA board of directors but its only 2 of each city council and 2 supes at a any one time and probably no the person from your district. All this adds up to a group of people who care less, who you cannot contact and if you did contact them they would tell you that you're not in their city or district. It is the worst kind of non representative and non responsive government layer. They give us the trolley and they aim to keep wasting our tax dollars no matter how much we dislike it - because we can't do anything about it. "
ruiz94558 wrote on Sep 3, 2008 9:48 PM:
make napa better wrote on Sep 5, 2008 12:57 AM:
It's a joke "
tfytmp wrote on Sep 5, 2008 6:36 AM:
darkstar wrote on Sep 5, 2008 10:21 AM:
VJ07 wrote on Sep 5, 2008 10:36 AM:
Just when I was getting used to saying, "some things in life ARE free." That was short lived. "
B-Side wrote on Sep 5, 2008 7:07 PM:
jwk wrote on Sep 6, 2008 3:16 AM:
concerned citizen wrote on Sep 6, 2008 11:24 AM:
shareathought wrote on Sep 6, 2008 11:56 AM:
Have one run the opposite direction, down Soscol (another motel), across Imola and back up Jefferson.
Continue with rides to the outlets but stagger the trolleys so that every second ride ran an east-west loop back along Lincoln to Silverado Trail and back to old town at Third.
Run them once an hour weekdays; increase the weekend (or events), and evening trips (dinner). "
musikluvr wrote on Sep 7, 2008 4:51 PM:
slloydcanuck wrote on Sep 8, 2008 1:08 PM:
14obama wrote on Sep 15, 2008 6:52 PM:
14obama wrote on Sep 15, 2008 7:05 PM: