Trolleys delayed
By Tom Vaught | sun staff writer | Vol. 11 No. 44 - August 17, 2011
The trolleys are in and will be on the streets soon, but not as soon as previously predicted.
According to Bradenton Beach businessman David Teitelbaum, who is spearheading the trolley advertising campaign with the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce, the first two trolleys are at the Manatee County Area Transit (MCAT) shop where the interior and exterior ads are being applied. Radios are being installed this week, also.
Teitelbaum said the transit operations staff predicts the first trolley will be on the streets of Anna Maria Island on Monday, Aug. 22.
Manatee County Administrator Ed Hunzeker ordered five new, more reliable trolleys last year to replace the ones already in service when advertisers complained that the old vehicles were in the shop too much, forcing MCAT to replace them with buses. The rigors of servicing the Island 365 days a year through saltwater filled air and on sandy streets took its toll with the second-generation trolleys. The first set of trolleys came with noisy engines, which MCAT mechanics fixed with longer exhaust systems. They also proved to be unreliable.
The new trolleys will continue the two-tone teal color scheme and revenue from the ads will allow MCAT to continue running the system without charging rider fees. The Island service was a hit since it started in 2002.
Commission approves trolley ad plan
The Islander - By Lisa Neff, Islander Reporter, May 2011
Manatee County commissioners approved an agreement for the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce to again sell ads on the Island Trolley to generate revenue for the fare-free service.
The trolley operates the north-south length of Anna Maria Island 365 days a year. There is no charge to passengers, but in recent years, with diminished grant funding and declines in tax receipts, local governments have struggled with budgeting for the service.
A couple of years ago, the county and Island chamber crafted a partnership to promote and finance the trolley in part with advertising.
Island businesses bought into the campaign, but the county suspended the advertising while it pursued replacement vehicles for the mechanically troubled trolleys.
With replacement vehicles due this year, the campaign is being reactivated, according deputy county administrator Karen Windon.
The agreement approved by commissioners during a regular meeting May 24 stated that the chamber will pay the county $15,000 in ad revenues each quarter to total $60,000 a year.
Any sales revenue above the $60,000 will be kept by the chamber, according to a memo from Windon to commissioners.
The new trolleys also will be equipped with donation boxes to help generate revenue for the service.
Under the agreement, the county “will not review or pre-approve advertising content, but will rely on the judgment of the chamber to ensure content is of a type and nature suitable for the trolley service,” Windon said.
The county agreement is for two years, with an option to renew.
Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce
5313 Gulf Drive N., Holmes Beach, FL 34217
Phone: 941.778.1541 | Fax: 941.778.9679