opinion

Editorial: Has streetcar maker jilted us?

To: CAF USA, Streetcar builder, Elmira, New York

Hi, CAF. It’s me, Cincinnati.

I’m writing you this letter because at this point, I don’t know what else to do. Forgive me if I seem a little emotional, but I’m at my wit’s end, missing you. No matter how hard I try to get in touch and find out what’s going on, you no longer respond. You are making our streetcars, and I want us to go through this experience together, especially if you might miss your due date.

When we first met, I knew we had something special. I know you felt it too. We clicked. I never told you this at the time, but I had other options – three other potential partners with which to raise a streetcar route, making streetcars with that distinctive on-wire, low-floor design I sought. But you – you were the one. You had made rail cars for Pittsburgh, Sacramento and others. You even had international experience. You did have something of a checkered past, but I thought you had changed. You won the federally compliant procurement process, and in April 2012 we sealed the $20.5 million deal.

We knew it was never going to be easy, bringing these streetcars into the world. I had mixed feelings about you and I’m sure you picked up on them. I’ll admit, I can be indecisive. I like to save money, but I also like to better myself. This route’s price tag is $148 million, but it would serve as a transit centerpiece of my revitalized core. I spent a lot of time hemming and hawing, not sure what to do. Yet in the end I knew what I wanted. I wanted you to make my streetcars. I committed to you – heart, soul and pocketbook.

But then you stopped talking to me. I wrote you. I called. Still nothing. It wasn’t the first time we’ve had communication problems, but this time felt different. Then I heard that our streetcars might be late. The first streetcar was due on Sept. 17, but rumor was I might not see it until mid-November. That got me worried, as you would expect. Such a missed due date means a lot of additional expense that could wipe out my savings. Such a missed due date brings up all the old confusion over whether I actually want to make a streetcar route with anyone. It could mean legal action, and neither of us wants that, right?

I hate not knowing what’s going on, and I feel like I’m owed some answers. I even sent friends to your address in New York to find out what was happening. I heard Kansas City sent friends there too, seeking the same answers about KC’s streetcars, also rumored to be arriving late.

So how about it? Send a letter, a text, a tweet, a fax, a telegram, a weak radio signal. Something. Anything. Let me know what is happening with our streetcars.

I’m here, listening, waiting for you.

Yours (whether I like it or not),

Cincinnati

(An earlier version of this editorial included an incorrect total for Cincinnati's deal with CAF USA. The Enquirer regrets the error.)