The Loop Trolley Company, a not-for-profit corporation, will be responsible for operating the service following the completion of construction in early 2017. The Trolley is currently being built by the Loop Trolley Transportation Development District (Loop Trolley TDD), which will retain ownership of the system.

Mr. Scott is a native of St. Louis and a former transit manager at Metro. After leaving St. Louis he worked as a manager for the Valley Metro light rail system in Phoenix, Arizona. His most recent assignment has been work as a consultant to Kansas City, Missouri, on the startup and operation of their new streetcar service. He has worked on all aspects of rail startups and his operations experience will be valuable in his new role.

“We are happy to welcome Paul back to the community as we put the organization in place to operate this exciting new service,” said Les Sterman, President of the Loop Trolley Company. “After a long recruiting process, we found the right person for the job as our first General Manager.”
“There is a lot of work to do before we can begin operating trolleys,” said Scott. “This will be a lean operation, but we will need to hire staff so that we can begin testing our vehicles when they are delivered this summer and become familiar with maintenance and operating procedures.”

Joe Edwards, Chair of the Loop Trolley TDD, noted that the Loop Trolley has reached an important milestone in the long development of the project.
“I am very grateful to all of the people who have worked so hard to build the Loop Trolley and to the City of St. Louis, St. Louis County, University City, and the Bi-State Development Agency for supporting us through this long process,” said Mr. Edwards. “And I’m particularly thrilled that we are now preparing to turn over the reins to the Loop Trolley Company to begin operating the Trolley. It has been a long wait, but it will be worth it.”

The St. Louis American ©May 2016