Looks old, but it’s brand-new

Mary Jo Carpenter grins with delight as she settles into the seat of Baker City’s new trolley.

Then she pulls a string to make the bell ring.

“It makes me think of Rice-A-Roni,” she said of the sound, which mimics the bell from the commercials for the “San Francisco Treat.”

Carpenter is the county manager for Community Connection, and she has been working to bring a trolley to Baker City for about five years — most of that time applying for grants to cover the trolley’s $123,000 tab.

The Baker City Trolley will begin operation July 13 as a fixed-route transportation service for the community.

It will operate Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

It officially arrived June 25 — with the help of local Milt Prowell.

That day, Prowell noticed the trolley had come to town, but it was pretty far away from its destination — he lives near Dewey Avenue, and Community Connection is farther north on Cedar Street.

As a regular at the Senior Center, Prowell knew the trolley was coming, so he went over and met the delivery folks, took a tour inside, then led the way to its final destination.

“We’re labeling  Milt as the first Baker passenger,” Carpenter said.

The Baker City Trolley features a fancy oak interior, and can sit 30 passengers on the bench seats. It has a lift in the back, and space for two wheelchairs.

There are handles suspended along the aisle, too, and a line along the windows passengers pull to request an unscheduled stop.

“This should last us 30, 40, 50 years,” Carpenter said.

The trolley is an addition to the Community Connection’s regular transportation buses used for Dial-A-Ride, which pick up passengers at their door and delivers them to their destination. Dial-A-Ride requires at least four hours advance notice.

The trolley is different. It will run on a regular circuit through Baker City all day, with eight designated stops around town. Also, passengers can flag it to down between scheduled stops.

“They’ll be able to go when they want to go, as often as they way to go,” Carpenter said.

The route is not quite set in stone, but the tentative one is designed to hit all the business districts (Campbell, Main, Broadway and 10th), the schools, doctor offices and the hospital.

It also dips into neighborhoods by traveling down these streets: Washington, Cedar, H, Grove, Myrtle, Elm, Auburn, Fourth, 17th, Sixth and D.

Carpenter said it takes about an hour to do the round-trip route.

The scheduled stops will be posted with signs that announce the times the trolley will come by.

Community Connection will print brochures detailing the route and stops for the trolley, and the schedule will also be posted on www.neotransit.org.

Rides will be free for the first three months.

“As a welcome to Baker City,” Carpenter said.

After that, rides will cost $1 general and 75 cents for seniors — and the money will be dropped in an old-fashioned box right inside the door.

 Also, a $30 monthly pass can be purchased for unlimited rides.

Though Carpenter thinks the trolley is just about perfect, she does have one addition — a model Ghirardelli trolley she received as a gift from the late Jim Pellissier, who donated many hours driving for Community Connection.

“He was such a big supporter of transportation,” Carpenter said.

That model will have a place of honor right up on the dashboard — as soon as she can figure out how to secure it.

To learn more at the Baker City Trolley, call Community Connection at 523-6591.