Clang, clang, clang went the trolley

Ding, ding, ding went the bell

"The Trolley Song" (From "Meet Me in St. Louis")

ST. LOUIS • Sure, the new fleet of downtown trolleys won't clang or ding. And at the end of the day, they're not really trolleys either.

But Metro and downtown tourism officials hope the "trolleys" — actually just buses gussied up with a graphic "wrap" featuring trolley images — will get more people to take mass transit to such downtown haunts as City Museum, America's Center and the Old Courthouse.

"The Metro vehicle dressed up to look like a trolley will make access to downtown attractions and businesses more convenient for the downtown consumer, as well as for people traveling from North County, South County and West County to get into downtown," said Metro spokeswoman Dianne Williams.

The No. 99 Downtown Trolley replaces a circulator bus that has served downtown St. Louis for several months, Williams said. It will operate from 5:30 a.m. to midnight Monday through Friday, and from 7 a.m. to midnight on Saturdays.

One-day tickets will be available at a cost of $2 for adults and $1 for children. The special fare will be limited to the downtown St. Louis system. Metro passes and transfers also will be accepted on the trolleys.

By contrast, Williams said, an all-day pass on other parts of the system is $7.50. Williams said the lower one-day trolley fares are being provided on a test basis.

"Decades ago, trolleys went around the streets of this community and people took them," said Kathleen "Kitty" Ratcliffe, president of the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission. "They've been gone for a long time. And in their place are buses. And sometimes visitors to a community aren't very comfortable getting on a bus because they don't know where that bus is going to go; they don't know where it's going to stop."

Often those visitors don't know where they are going themselves, she said. They know they are looking for visitor attractions and restaurants.

"So perhaps those buses have been a barrier for them," Ratcliffe said. "Not anymore."

The new trolley buses are "fun" and "friendly," making them more inviting to travelers, she said. The stops will be clearly designated, as well.

Metro teamed up with the Downtown St. Louis Community Improvement District and the Convention and Visitors Commission to provide the service.

Maggie Campbell, president of the Partnership for Downtown St. Louis, expressed hope that the colorful trolleys will increase ridership and "get more feet on the street downtown."

Metro at one time offered free downtown MetroLink service. But that free service was axed in the most recent round of budget cuts.

Williams said the new service is a cost-effective way of serving downtown.

Metro used to have 11 different bus routes crisscrossing downtown, adding to downtown congestion and agency cost. The new trolley buses will run every 10 minutes during peak hours throughout much of the day on weekdays, and 20 minutes the rest of the time. It will cost about $1.1 million a year to operate.

After Metro reduced service in March 2009, it halted bus service in the downtown core and used MetroLink to get people around. Buses stopped at 14th Street and "there were no buses down here until we got new funds," Williams said.

Now that St. Louis County voters approved a half-cent sales tax increase, the agency can afford to add service where it's needed. The first phase of Metro's service restoration began on Monday.