Letter: Scrap quasi-trolleys; bring back the real ones

Let’s everybody urge the Ben Franklin Transit system to scrap these quasi-trolleys (“Tri-City riders to get a trolley-style treat,” TCH, Nov. 7). They are still gas-guzzling, rubber-wearing, and oil-using machines, but simply carry a modified chassis to provide some nostalgia. You can see these throwbacks-in-part all over Walla Walla rolling through town on their routes.

What's that motto about putting lipstick on a pig? It’s still a bus.

Here’s an idea: send these buses to the wrecking yard and bring back the real trolleys. Put those rails back into the roads, give the trolleys the right-of-way, and I’ll bet your ridership increases tenfold.

San Francisco and New Orleans kept some of those trolley cars, and in many parts of Europe they still are winding through town for happy riders.

No doubt Exxon, Shell, Sinclair, and BP would love to throw these thoughts (and me) under the bus.

This story was originally published November 10, 2016 at 4:32 AM with the headline "Letter: Scrap quasi-trolleys; bring back the real ones."