Ojai council hears widespread public concern over trolley service; staff says hiring, new trolleys will restore Sunday runs

Dozens of Ojai residents urged the City Council to restore and stabilize the town’s trolley service, saying the system’s suspended Sunday runs and frequent service gaps have left seniors, people with disabilities and daily riders without reliable transportation.

At a lengthy public-comments segment, riders and former drivers described missed trips to medical appointments and church, problems with stops that no longer pull into senior parks, and uncertainty when drivers take unscheduled breaks. “The trolley, which is handicap accessible, is extremely important in my life,” said Winnie Major, a longtime rider, describing how she now lacks Sunday service to get to church.

Council and staff said the trolley’s problems stem mainly from a shortage of qualified drivers. Interim Transit Supervisor Alameda told the council the city is actively recruiting and has an interim supervisor reviewing applications; Alameda said two trolleys arrived this spring and are undergoing inspection and painting so the city can restore the B route when drivers are available. “We are actively trying to hire new drivers,” Alameda said. The city manager confirmed the council in July increased pay for trolley drivers to help recruitment.

Several riders described past attempts to train local applicants and asked the city to resume free driver training and to accept applications. Trolley driver Patrick Holmes told the council he volunteered to drive Sundays for two months while the city tried to hire, and voiced concern that the system’s reliability is eroding ridership. “If they can’t rely on this mode of transportation, it’s going to start to deteriorate the ridership,” Holmes said.

Staff told the council the city continues a partnership with Gold Coast Transit District to provide training for applicants who lack a passenger endorsement; staff said it will again cover training costs for hires who need endorsement and road training. Staff also said the city is investigating the use of a contract service to backfill vacancies — a step the city used previously to supply one Sunday driver — and will post and continue to accept job applications via the city Human Resources webpage.

Council members and staff thanked frequent riders for their testimony and said restoring Sunday service is a priority. The council liaison to Gold Coast Transit District noted the quality of Gold Coast’s training program and said that will support city recruitment. Council and staff did not set a firm date for restarting Sunday service but said they expected action once sufficient drivers are hired or a short-term contract arrangement is in place.

Residents also urged additional improvements: requests included clearer communications to riders when runs are late or cancelled, restoration of prepaid token discounts, more consistent route access to senior mobile-home parks, and a town-hall forum focused on the trolley. Staff committed to continued public updates and to return to council with any required contract or budget requests if recruitment remains insufficient.

Ending: The city does not yet have a fixed restoration date for Sunday service. Staff says two trolleys are road-ready pending inspection, the city is actively hiring and training drivers (including funded training in partnership with Gold Coast Transit), and contracted drivers remain under consideration to bridge gaps until in-house staffing is sufficient.