As projects moved forward, they attracted strong opposition from Tea Party groups, and generated a spate of embarrassments.

In Washington, a $200 million project is nine years late. In Detroit, even the official unveiling of the streetcar’s name had to be delayed. In Charlotte, North Carolina, a runaway streetcar rear-ended a Chevrolet days after its debut. Tampa’s 2.4 mile system ran so short of cash that it doesn’t start operating until almost noon.

“It hasn’t been successful as a transit system,” said Tampa City Councilman Mike Suarez.

Safety Scolding

Atlanta’s four streetcars began running almost a year late, in December 2014, connecting two tourist areas severed by a highway years ago.

It’s been beset by troubles. Electrical maintenance problems forced the city to cut its power during a July rush hour. All four trains were vandalized one night in September, while a guard -- who had forgotten his badge -- sat outside the maintenance yard gate. The system racked up 11 accidents by July and got a safety scolding in September from the Federal Transit Administration. It lost key managers to other jobs and has suffered high turnover in staff.

“There has been a very steep learning curve,” said Wilma Sothern, marketing director for Central Atlanta Progress, a business group backing the streetcar. “The city has never run a transit program before. As we like to say, innovation is messy.”

Sothern and other boosters point to $671 million in investment along the route as proof that it can succeed. However, several projects would have happened regardless, like new dormitories at a nearby university and a mixed-income housing development under way since 2004.

The streetcar has exceeded ridership projections in its first year, attracting almost 700,000 riders by November, in part because it’s free. That’s what made it a magnet for the homeless, which has caused its latest round of bad publicity. On a November weekday afternoon, it carried three French tourists, some college students and seven homeless men sprawled across the seats with their belongings.

Fare Treatment

Homeless ridership could drop when the city starts charging in January, using the honor system and spot enforcement. Melissa Mullinax, a senior adviser to Mayor Kasim Reed said they’ll be welcome if they pay.

The streetcar needs time to mature and about $60 million in new funding to extend it to a popular bike and pedestrian path called the Beltline, Reed said in a November interview.

“The streetcar, which was really a project by my predecessor, was never meant to be a stand-alone line,” he said. “Once we have it running smoothly, and have the right checks and balances with our federal partners, I think the story around the streetcar will turn.”

The Atlanta City Council approved an unfunded plan for 47 more miles of lines last week. The federal government rejected the city’s funding plan for a Beltline extension in October.

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