Education senior Victoria McGuire, left, laughs with hospitality business senior Tom Drotar next to hospitality business junior Allegra Steinberg and hospitality business junior Jason Keffer, right, on the way back from Lansing on Friday evening aboard the Entertainment Express. Entertainment Express, which is the CATA Route 4 bus, runs Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening loops from downtown Lansing to East Lansing.
For Jason Keffer, the East Lansing bar scene can get stale. The excitement of bouncing between local watering holes for pitchers of beer can only last so long, the hospitality business junior said.
“It’s kind of the same thing all the time when you go to The Riv or (Rick’s American Cafe),” he said. “It’s kind of monotonous.”
So when he found himself ready to blow off steam last weekend, Keffer and his friends hitched a ride on the Entertainment Express and spent the evening visiting some Lansing-area bars.
“It was really convenient,” Keffer said. “You’re either going to make someone be a designated driver or pay ridiculous amounts for taxi fare.”
Keffer isn’t alone in his quest for a new place to drink, socialize and relax.
Since the trolley first started its engine in 2006, ridership has reached a total annual rate of nearly 12,000, said Eric Hart, president and CEO of the Lansing Entertainment and Public Facilities Authority.
In the early and later months of the academic year, the Entertainment Express regularly whisks more than 200 riders per weekend to bars, restaurants and theaters throughout the Lansing and East Lansing region, Hart said.
During Thirsty Thursdays at Oldsmobile Park, that number can jump up to nearly 400 riders.
In December, in support of the trolley, the East Lansing City Council approved a $5,000 contribution to the trolley system for the second consecutive year.
Yet, the City Council still has questions about whether the trolley exports more people than it imports.
Tim Dempsey, East Lansing’s community and economic development director, said the city believes the trolley benefits both cities.
While East Lansing waits for statistics revealing whether the trolley does in fact benefit both cities, the council is choosing to withhold half of the $5,000 contribution.
“What we would like to see is where people are starting their trips and where they’re going,” Dempsey said. “Is it adding to business in the downtown or is it taking away? For them, that’s a big question.”
Tom Allen, owner of The Landshark, 101 E. Grand River Ave., said he already knows the answer to that question.
“I don’t see any effect,” he said.
While it may occasionally draw a few students to Lansing, Allen said he feels the Entertainment Express doesn’t threaten his customer base.
East Lansing Mayor Vic Loomis said he believes the trolley is helping both cities, but it’s important to have statistics to support his assumption.
“If there was a large imbalance to the point of origin, I think we would rethink the second investment,” Loomis said.
East Lansing City Councilmember Kevin Beard said he agrees.
“It’s important to know whether or not it’s benefiting both cities,” Beard said.
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If the Entertainment Express can show that it’s bringing people into East Lansing, local bars and restaurants could start offering the trolley their support, Beard said.
So far, many of the trolley’s supporters are found in Lansing. The Firm Food and Spirits, 227 S. Washington Square, Rum Runners, 601 E. Michigan Ave., and The Exchange, 314 E. Michigan Ave., all in Lansing, have supported the trolley through advertising or funding.
David Sell, general manager of The Exchange, said the trolley has brought more students into his downtown Lansing bar.
“We’re big supporters of it,” Sell said. “We feel it gives students a safe way to get downtown and not have to rely on the taxis in the town, which aren’t very reliable.”
Sell also said it exposes students to a different bar scene that isn’t as prominent in East Lansing.
“It’s a little bit more upscale and refined than what you will get in East Lansing,” Sell said.
While the trolley might draw a few students to downtown Lansing for a night, it doesn’t put any of the East Lansing bars and restaurants in financial danger, Sell said.
“It doesn’t matter how many people we take away, there is just so many people down in East Lansing,” he said.
Besides helping to bridge the gap between Lansing and East Lansing, the Entertainment Express serves the important role of providing safe transportation for bargoers, Hart said.
“We’re not encouraging or discouraging (drinking),” Hart said.
“We’re happy that people aren’t driving.”
