Trolleys may once again serve downtown Lawton

Once upon a time, trolleys carried Fort Sill soldiers to and from downtown Lawton on 6.31 miles of track. From July 1914 to November 1927, the trolleys transported more than 6 million people between the Army post and the burgeoning city to the south.

Although those days are just a distant memory, trolley service could return to downtown Lawton if a plan by Lawton Area Transit System is approved.

Ryan Landers, LATS general manager and vice president of Hendrickson Transportation Group, the entity that operates LATS for the City of Lawton, made a pitch for the trolleys to the City Council Tuesday. Landers said the idea is in the early stages of discussion, as he outlined a plan to run at least two trolleys from the mass transfer center to stops in downtown Lawton.

“This can be used as an additional service. There are a number of ways to do this. The ideas are endless at this point,” he said.

One use of the trolleys could be to transport people to and from festivals and other events.

Landers said mass transit ridership has increased where other cities have introduced trolley service.

“It is a nostalgic thing to have trolley buses; it does bring potential new riders,” he said adding that in some places ridership has grown 30 percent.

“People are intrigued to ride it,” Landers said of the trolleys. “They get the look and feel of old-time trolleys. We think more people would want to try fixed buses once they got on a trolley.”

But the idea may be a hard sell to some council members.

“I don’t know where this idea came from,” said Ward 4 Councilman George Gill. “This never came up at a meeting I was at. …. I’m not in favor of it.”

Ward 6 Councilman Bob Weger questioned the number of drivers that would be needed if trolleys were added to the bus fleet.

“We could have this instead of a fixed route,” Landers said. “If we took one of those away, it wouldn’t affect the budget.”

If a trolley was added to the fleet, then two extra drivers would be needed, Landers said. The trolleys would run their routes every 30 minutes for 13 hours a day just as LATS buses do.

Landers suggested starting with one trolley to see how it goes, but said two trolleys would be needed in case one breaks down.

Responding to a question from Ward 7 Councilwoman Onreka Johnson, Landers said the trolleys cost about 15 to 20 percent more than the buses Lawton runs now.

About 70 percent of the LATS budget comes from grants, he said. Another $230,000 to $250,000 comes from state funds and about $70,000 comes from an agreement with Lawton Public Schools.

The city needs to purchase new buses soon, and must decide whether to buy diesel, electric or hybrid, he said. Trolleys also come in diesel, electric and hybrid.

“We have to decided what alternate form of energy we go for,” he said.

“The new buses we are going to buy can serve the same purpose,” Gill said.

Should the council decide to try the trolley experiment, it may be a while before they show up on city streets. Planning Director Charlotte Brown said the city is two to three years away from looking at grants for new buses.

“It doesn’t have to happen right now,” she said. “It takes a year to build a bus.”