Two red-and-gray trolleys would be rolling around downtown Lincoln this weekend on rubber tires, carrying passengers, if things had gone according to plan.
But things didn’t go according to plan. The city has no trolleys roaming the streets and probably won’t for another 10 months or more.
However, the city has not paid any money for the trolleys in what has become a legal debacle.
The two trolleys arrived in Lincoln in late April and staff began planning for a May unveiling, when the mayor would have shown them off at a news conference.
But when staff inspected the vehicles they found some problems, mostly minor, said Mike Davis, transit manager.
Bolts on the bottom of the bus hadn’t been coated for rust protection; decorative etched windows were not in the right place (one was next to the driver's seat); there were no pads on the back of the wooden seats; one bus wouldn't start because of wiring issues.
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The city had earlier inspected the trolleys at the Wisconsin factory where they were built for major deficiencies, Davis said.
The company suggested the trolleys be returned for the fixes, a process expected to take just a couple of weeks.
But the two trolleys will likely never return to Lincoln.
The city attorney's office is waiting for the final paperwork to establish who owns the trolleys and what company should get the as-yet-unwritten, half-million-dollar check. They don't expect to get that paperwork.Ìý
The city contract for the trolleys was with National Bus Sales. But last fall that company’s assets were purchased by Creative Bus Sales, explained Chris Connolly, an assistant city attorney.
Buying the assets is not the same as a merger, said Connolly.
Lincoln has not been able to determine who owns the two trolleys. Representatives of Creative Bus Sales have not come up with documentation to prove ownership. And the city has not been able to get anyone from National Bus Sales to respond, Connolly said.
There were two issues — technical and legal, Connolly said.
"On the legal side, we couldn’t be sure we were paying the right entity," he said. “And we are not going to send $500,000 to someone unless we know it is the right party.â€
Connolly doesn't believe that paperwork will ever arrive and expects the city will terminate the contract for the trolleys and move on with redoing the whole purchasing process.
That means Lincoln likely won't get trolleys until next year.
The build time for the trolleys is about six months. Putting out another request for bids will take several months. So Davis expects it will be next spring before the city sees new trolleys.
The city is out the $1,757 paid for the inspection in Wisconsin, but has spent no money on the purchase itself.
“We haven’t lost a penny on this. Not one penny," Connolly said about the purchase.
The legal issue actually started before the technical problems became apparent.
Connolly has been asking for the legal documentation since January. So he’s unsure whether Creative Bus Sales decided to take the trolleys back solely to correct the technical problems or because they knew they didn’t have the legal paperwork necessary to finish the deal.
The two compressed-gas trolleys — with a price tag of $511,000 — were to be purchased using federal funds (85 percent), Black Hills Energy (5.5 percent) and local funds (9.5 percent). That money will still be available for the vehicles in the future. Â
They are intended to be a novelty that will attract tourists and promote fun rides downtown and in the Haymarket.
They would replace the city's downtown shuttle service buses. Some studies have shown that novelty rides such as trolleys increase ridership in general, Davis said.Ìý
StarTran had received pictures of the finished trolleys. Then they were driven to Lincoln and staff took their own pictures.
"It is actually very sad, like someone giving you candy and then taking it away from you,†Davis said.