Future of Dodger Trolley uncertain

The fate of bus service from Union Station to Dodger Stadium for games this season remained in limbo as the Los Angeles City Council's transportation committee took no action Wednesday on the issue.

Neither the city nor the Dodgers want to pay for the bus service, which began last July, was free to passengers and proved popular. Service could cost from $383,000 to $630,000 for the season. The city is facing a budget shortfall, and the Dodgers say they are already contributing plenty of money to city coffers through taxes and that it's the job of government to provide mass transit.

Here's a link to a recent city report on the issue.

In the meantime, the city and the Dodgers are continuing talks about finding sponsors to pay for the buses, according to city and team officials. "The collaboration between the city of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Dodgers continues, and I remain optimistic that this will be resolved and that the Dodger Trolley will be in place for the 2009 baseball season," said Howard Sunkin, a senior vice president of the McCourt Group.

-- Steve Hymon

Comments

[Kymberleigh Richards]

Here is what the Dodger organization does not realize. Specialized shuttles to for-profit sporting events is NOT "mass transit".

The Dodgers are asking for a public subsidy for a service benefitting their bank account. As much as I bleed Dodger Blue, if Frank McCourt can't open his wallet to subsidize this service, I can't justify the City paying to run it on its own.

I'd sooner walk up to Dodger Stadium from Sunset Blvd. than put real public transit operation at risk by shifting funds to cover the shuttle.