OCEAN CITY — The Boardwalk tram may not run at all this summer or operated with a significantly reduced schedule, resort officials decided this week.
The Transportation Committee on Tuesday debated the merits of operating the Boardwalk tram this summer regardless of what stage in the state’s recovery plan is reached. It was literally a nearly million-dollar question as committee members weighed balancing social distancing and public safety against significant revenue losses and the loss of a popular feature on the Boardwalk for generations.
Not running the tram at all on the Boardwalk this summer was the preferred option for some on the committee. It was ultimately decided not to begin operating the tram by Memorial Day weekend, but instead to see how the current pandemic situation plays out in early summer and revisit the issue in June.
Ocean City Transportation Operations Manager Steve Bartlett said it would take about two weeks to get the staff trained and the tram up and running, which could begin in mid-June if the situation warrants, and put the tram service restoration on target for the beginning of July. Unlike the municipal bus service, the Boardwalk tram is an amenity not required for providing mass transportation, Mayor Rick Meehan pointed out.
“This is a difficult time and we have to make difficult decisions,” he said. “The Boardwalk tram is actually an amusement and we’re not required to provide it as public transit. I think it might be difficult to operate it, at least in the beginning. The perception of the tram going down the Boardwalk packed with 80 people is something I’m not sure we want to do.”
Councilman Tony DeLuca said the future of the Boardwalk tram was not a decision the committee had to rush into.
“I think we should hold off on that decision,” he said. “We shouldn’t run it on Memorial Day weekend. Maybe we can test in June and bring it back by the Fourth of July.”
Budget Manager Jennie Knapp said from a fiscal standpoint, not operating the tram at all this summer could result in a loss of revenue approaching $1 million. Councilman Dennis Dare pointed out the challenges of running the Boardwalk tram while trying to protect public health and maintain social distancing.
“The tram is not public transportation and I don’t think it’s essential for us to operate it,” he said. “If we did try social distancing, the ridership would be reduced to the point it wouldn’t be working. Also, the tram herds people on the Boardwalk together and that defeats the message of social distancing.”
Dare said given his druthers, he would just suspend the Boardwalk tram operation for the season.
“I’d be critical of running it at all this summer,” he said. “Unless there’s a big change in the science, all indications are this thing is still going to be around longer than the Fourth of July.”
DeLuca said the tram season could be salvaged to some degree even if it was brought back in late summer.
“There could be a break even,” he said. “If we could run the tram in August and September, we might be able to get back to even and minimize some of the losses.”
Meehan said the tram could be an example of an acceptable level of loss in the name of public safety.
“We all realize there are going to be losses,” he said. “None of us want that, but we have to do the right thing. We just have to find a way to minimize the losses.”
Councilman Mark Paddack said the tough decision regarding the Boardwalk tram was symptomatic of what the entire community is and will continue to deal with in what is shaping up to be a certainly unconventional summer.
“Everybody in our community is operating at a loss until we really get up and running,” he said. “Maybe we start the training in June and by July we’re ready to go. We know July, August and September are the biggest months.”
Dare reiterated his point about the challenges in operating a tram on a crowded Boardwalk while trying to maintain some semblance of social distancing and other public safety guidelines.
“Running the trams contradicts social distancing on the Boardwalk,” he said. “It’s going to be a financial loss. This is just the tip of the iceberg. We know we’re going to be operating a lot of these things at a loss was we try to navigate these unchartered waters.”
After considerable debate, the committee voted to move up its next meeting from the scheduled June 9 to June 2. At that time, the committee will have a better understanding of where the town is in its recovery phases and will make a decision on the future of the Boardwalk tram for this summer. In a best case scenario, the training and preparation could begin by mid-June and the tram could be operating by July.
