Laguna extends trolley service to Ritz-Carlton

The Laguna Beach city trolley system, which serves the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel daily throughout the summer, is now providing off-season weekend service to the resort as well.

Weekend-only service to the hotel, which is in Dana Point, began April 3. The City Council agreed March 31 to extend the line.

Three Arch Bay residents and hotel guests asked the city to go beyond the current stopping point at Mission Hospital. The route begins at Cajon Street in north Laguna and runs along Coast Highway into South Laguna.

The city extended off-season service to locations other than the Ritz-Carlton on March 6. Ridership on the six trolleys immediately exceeded expectations with 30,000 boardings in the first month, according to a city news release.

During peak hours, wait times can average 15 to 20 minutes.

With the council’s vote to add off-season service to the resort, the city will use two trolleys for a total of eight in the off-season. During the summertime, Laguna operates 25 trolleys.

An Orange County Transportation Authority grant will cover 80% of the off-season costs, up to $514,600 per fiscal year, according to a city staff report. At least seven passengers would need to ride each trolley hourly for the city to receive the maximum grant reimbursement from OCTA.

Between the start of the service in March and the end of the fiscal year June 30, the city expects to spend $35,000 on fuel, pay and other costs, Deputy City Manager Ben Siegel said. He added that a full year’s costs work out to about $130,000.

Trolleys operate from 4 to 11 p.m. Fridays, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays in non-summer months.

OCTA board members are scheduled to vote on the expanded route in June, but agreed to allow the city to begin the service April 3. If the OCTA board does not approve the changes, the city would be responsible for the service through June, according to the staff report.