S2 Ep37: That's So Cincinnati: Councilman Chris Seelbach talks streetcar, text message scandal and FC Cincinnati

Before the streetcar was shut down to passengers to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, there was a plan on the table to make it fare-free.

Yes, free. Finally. Supporters have long said such a move would bolster weak ridership.

Cincinnati City Councilman Chris Seelbach told The Enquirer’s That’s So Cincinnati podcast that the Cincinnati Bell Connector was going to be free to ride starting July 1. (Click the Audioboom link at the top of the article to listen to the podcast episode for free.) 

It would have been free even sooner than that, Seelbach said, but there was concern about any discussion of the streetcar interfering with Cincinnati Metro’s levy.

Now – with the streetcar still closed to passengers and the city facing gaping budget deficits – no one knows what will happen, Seelbach said.

If Cincinnati doesn’t get some federal aid, he said, the streetcar may never open back up at all, let alone without fares.

It was a shocking statement from one of the streetcar's biggest proponents.

“That’s just the reality,” he said. “In addition to it not reopening, we will likely be shutting down all parks, all health centers, rec centers, your garbage is only getting pick-up once a month. I mean, that’s the dire situation we’re looking at if we don’t get assistance from the federal government. And so far we haven’t.”

The streetcar launched in September 2016. It had a successful start – with more than 133,000 riders that first month – but it has been plagued by troubles since. Ridership quickly dropped, falling well below projections, and the streetcar has struggled to gain revenue from advertising and fares.

With the breakout of COVID-19, under the orders of the Cincinnati health commissioner and Mayor John Cranley, the streetcar has been closed since April 1.

Rather than shutting down completely, though, the streetcar has been running without passengers. Officials said it would cost between $300,000 and $1 million to bring the streetcar back into service after a complete shutdown. Running it empty, save for a skeleton crew, costs roughly $138,000 a month.

Travis Jeric, interim deputy director of the streetcar, did not return a message seeking comment about a potential plan to make the streetcar far-free.

David Mann, city council’s budget and finance committee chair, said he’s not sure where the July 1 date came from.

Mann has long advocated for a fare-free streetcar but said he was unaware of any concrete plans.

“I had not heard a definite date, and I haven’t heard anything about it since the stay at home orders and the temporary closing,” he said. “It’s pretty obvious, I think, that we’re going to have a heated debate about what to do about the streetcar, ranging from close it to bring it back the way it was to free service.”

Mann is worried now about the city’s overall budget, which has a projected $15 million deficit this fiscal year and a projected $90 million deficit next fiscal year, recently upped from an earlier $80 million projection.

He thinks city council needs to tackle that budget first – “which is going to be misery” – and then it can take up the streetcar issue.

The streetcar's operating budget is $5 million a year, but it's set up to be self-sustaining. The money is to come from fares, advertising naming rights and developers who benefit from proximity to it. But it was falling short even before the pandemic.

Last year, Cincinnati City Council had to cover a $1.4 shortfall in that budget with operating budget money. The same struggles this fiscal year, coupled with the pandemic shutdown mean that amount will likely climb.

Also on this week's That's So Cincinnati episode, Seelbach discussed: 

• City Council's Gang of 5 text message scandal
• FC Cincinnati's new West End stadium 
• Gentrification of Over-the-Rhine