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Council renews Explore Elmhurst trolley program; some aldermen press for more data and broader routes
Summary
The City Council approved the 2025 Explore Elmhurst trolley program, keeping a six‑stop summer route and a winter/holiday service after staff recommended extending the existing contract; several aldermen sought more ridership data and urged opening the contract to other providers.
The Elmhurst City Council voted 14–0 on Feb. 18 to approve the 2025 Explore Elmhurst trolley program, keeping the six‑stop route used in recent seasons and authorizing staff to prepare required documents for council approval.
Alderman Michael Bridal, presenting the committee report, said staff evaluated expansion options and concluded no new stops were viable this year; the route will run two seasons (a 16‑week summer season starting May 30 and a five‑week winter/holiday program beginning Nov. 29) plus use during major events. Bridal said the city will take over advertising sales for 24 available sponsorship spaces on the trolley this year and that charter transportation provider Ares Charter Transportation has operated the service reliably over recent years with a roughly 3.5 percent price increase from last season.
Several aldermen supported the program but pressed for more and better ridership data. Alderman Jacob Hill said he supported the trolley but had not received ridership breakdowns by stop and hour needed to evaluate underused stops. Alderman Grama and others said some documented criteria used to select stops had only recently been formalized and questioned whether some stops still met that criteria. Alderman Irby asked that the council require a two‑thirds majority for a non‑bid contract because the service is effectively a professional services arrangement and had been run by the same vendor for multiple years.
Despite those concerns, the council rejected a motion to send the report back to committee and approved the program. Several council members said ridership is up year over year and that staff will continue to study stop performance. Alderman Hill and others recommended testing new stops or short trial routes during a season to evaluate demand.
The committee report is signed by Alderman Michael Bridal (chair) and Alderman Jacob Hill (vice chair). The approved report directs city staff to finalize documents for council consideration and to proceed with the 2025 program under existing contract terms.
The council did not adopt a separate ordinance change at the meeting; members emphasized that future decisions about route changes or rebidding the service would be considered as part of purchasing and budgeting processes.
