Trolley Ridership Up 22% and Rising

Route and schedule changes prompted Ojai Trolley Service ridership to soar 22% in 1996, officials said.

Ridership rose from a monthly average of 4,964 riders in 1995 to 6,047 last year, which surpassed estimates.

“Our projection for this year was to hit the 6,000-riders-per-month mark,” said Linda Fisher-Helton, transit marketing coordinator for the city-run service. “It looks like we’ll hit 7,000 riders per month, and we expect that to be a trend that continues.”

The 1996 increase follows a 42% jump in ridership the previous year. Ridership was less than 3,000 per month when the city took over the operation in 1994 from the private company that began the service in 1989, Fisher-Helton said.

Implementation of a one-hour circuit proved more convenient for riders trying to remember route times, she said.

The transit system coordinated the schedule with the local schools’ schedule, posted schedules at all trolley stops and made other improvements, she said.

The city spends $90,000 annually to operate the service, not including administrative overhead and capital expenses. The fare is a quarter, with seniors and children under 2 riding free.