Official: US may want millions back if trolley stops running

ST. LOUIS (AP) — If a streetcar line ceases operation in the St. Louis area, the federal government may want to be paid back some of the millions of dollars it spent to support the project.

That's the assessment of James Wild, executive director of the East-West Gateway Council of Governments, the organization that coordinates federal transportation funding for the region.

"It's likely some of the funds would have to be repaid, we just have to determine how much that would be," Wild said. "The Federal Transit Administration is trying to be very deliberate and careful in what their determination is going to be, because, to the best of their knowledge, this is not something that has occurred in their region and we're not sure if there is a precedent for this."

Wild said the entity that would have to repay the money is the Loop Trolley Transportation Development District, which is funded by a 1% tax on businesses along the trolley line.

The U.S. government paid for about two-thirds of the $51.5 million Loop Trolley, a 2.2-mile (3.5-kilometer) system running from University City's Delmar Loop to the Missouri History Museum in St. Louis, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Wednesday. The trolley began operation in November after years of delays. Ridership has been low.

Trolley board president John Meyer said Saturday that the line needs $200,000 by next month to keep operating and another $500,000 to operate into 2020.

St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson's chief of staff, Steve Conway, said the city "has not ruled out" financial aid for the trolley. He didn't elaborate on what revenue sources are being considered.

But St. Louis Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reed said the trolley project was supposed to pay for itself through ridership.

"St. Louis has numerous demands on...