LOT of 188 tokens; History. Ken Feenstra, former director of redevelopment for the city of Palm Springs, contacted The Desert Sun after reading the July 26 “Thanks for the The Memories” column headlined Buzz trolley not Palm Springs’ first shuttle attempt. Feenstra was right in the thick of things during the city’s attempt to get the passenger system, dubbed “Sun Surrey Shuttle, ” up and running in 1980. Feenstra contacted the clerk’s office and got copies of City Council minutes from that era. This much-appreciated-gesture has really helped me put the history into context. When we last left off, we were talking about the debate about the graphic design that would adorn the buses. Subtle, non-pictorial graphics were selected over photos of male and female sunbathers and advertisements. The next order of business was authorizing the minting of Sun Surrey Fare coin tokens. Feenstra personally handed these tokens out to merchants, who would in turn, hand them out to their customers. Those without tokens could pay 25 cents to travel on the Sun Surrey. The British-made buses finally hit the streets in mid-December of 1980 after a two-week delay due to CHP-mandated repairs to the vehicles’ brakes and replacement of their windshields, which were refitted with shatterproof glass. A story in the Dec. 16, 1980 issue of The Desert Sun reported that the Sun Surrey shuttle bus was well received by its riders. Get the Daily Briefing newsletter in your inbox. Start your day with the morning’s top news. It was a short-lived, bumpy ride. A Central Corridor Business Improvement Area was created in March of 1980 to help pay for operating costs. Sixty merchants refused to pay the levy, and the city filed lawsuits against these holdouts. According to a story in the May 20, 1981 Desert Sun, a municipal court judge ruled in favor of five of these merchants who refused to pay for a tourist bus system because the assessments were, arbitrary, discriminatory and unfair. The City Council, at its Sept. 16, 1981 meeting, gave final approval to two separate resolutions that effectively “killed” the Sun Surrey. The city gave it another try less than a decade later when it turned the new Palm Springs SunTrolleys loose on the streets of downtown on Nov. According to news reports, the trolleys were being used primarily to relieve traffic congestion and parking problems while at the same time, offer an attractive and tourist oriented service to conventioneers and visitors. Dubbed “Molly Trolleys, ” the single-decker bus, designed to look like San Francisco cable cars, would originate at the Palm Springs Convention Center, and travel north and south routes along Palm Canyon Drive and Indian Avenue. Maps and brochures were produced with route information and a list of hotels along the SunTrolley route. The fare was 50 cents. The trolleys were scheduled to run through May 28, 1990. 28, 1991 story in The Desert Sun reported A downtown shuttle service linking the city’s major hotels and tourist attractions was officially unveiled. Dubbed the Village Shuttle, the trolley – which appears to be the same design/model as the 1989/90 version – also offered special guided tours for visitors to celebrity homes and the Indian Canyons. At least one of the trolleys bore the name of “Sonny, ” a nod to then-Palm Springs Mayor Sonny Bono. “For years we’ve been talking about a nice little trolley like this and at last we’ve got it and we’re thrilled to death, ” former Palm Springs Mayor Frank Bogert said at the time. Not sure about the shelf live of Village Shuttle – but it doesn’t appear to have been long-lived. Twenty-four years later, Palm Springs introduces the Palm Springs Buzz, a free weekend trolley that will shuttle riders along a 14-mile loop from Racquet Club Road to the Parker Palm Springs hotel. Let’s hope history doesn’t repeat itself – again.