Charlotte, NC — Streetcar Lease Agreement

Rail Transit Online – December 2003

After months of struggle, the Central Arkansas Transit Authority board of directors on Nov. 18 approved leasing two of its three Gomaco-built replica Birney streetcars to the Charlotte Area Transit System until next summer for $112,000.  However, last-minute legal issues still had to be resolved involving liability and determining whether the contract should reflect liability laws in North Carolina or in Arkansas.  The payment schedule was changed by CATA  directors before the 8-4 vote, requiring CATS to pay the entire lease fee up front instead of in five easy payments.  The trolleys have all been delivered but CATA’s River Rail line linking the downtowns of Little Rock and North Little Rock won’t be ready for operation until next fall.  Officials of both transit agencies believe the contract will be signed in time for the trolleys to start service between Atherton Mills and Ninth Street in Charlotte once the line is ready, probably in February.  “I think it's basically a done deal,” CATA Executive Director Keith Jones told the Democrat-Gazette.  CATS spokeswoman Jean Leier agreed.  “From my understanding the only key thing that really needs to be worked out right now is the information between the attorneys,” Leier told the Democrat-Gazette.  However, CATA attorney Hal Kemp told his board that 11 contract items needed to be sorted out, including language, an exact date for the lease to begin, when payment is due and who would be responsible for the streetcars during shipping to and from Little Rock.  Kemp also called proposed insurance limits “grossly inadequate” and cautioned the directors that they need to be aware of North Carolina law in the event of an accident, especially one involving death or injury.  CATS intends to keep the cars until Gomaco Trolley Co. delivers three Birneys ordered last July.  CATA intends to leverage the $112,000 to obtain up to $400,000 in federal grants that could be applied toward a River Rail extension to the Clinton presidential library or another streetcar.