South Lake Union workers, rejoice: A group of businesses have fronted $65,000 to fund another South Lake Union Trolley, which will run during peak commuting hours for the next year. The second line will cut wait times down from 15 minutes to 10 minutes between the hours of 4 pm and 6:30 pm.

"This is a one year demonstration using no public money," explained Mayor Mike McGinn at a press conference held jointly this afternoon with the businesses, including the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, the University of Washington, and Group Health. Whether the service would be extended beyond the next year is up for debate, as is who would pay for it. When pressed for an answer, both the mayor and business representatives said, "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

"We've made no commitment to extend [the experiment] past a year with public funds," McGinn added.

Furthermore: "This [private donation] means we have funds available to invest in other services... to improve services to people who need it most," said McGinn, when questioned on worthier transit investments the city could, and should, be focusing on.

The popular perception is that the SLUT is nearly always empty, but business representatives say they approached the city with the proposal to fund another trolley service after noting that the SLUT was running at near capacity during peak commuting hours.

"This is a no-brainer," said Shelly DaRonche of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. "We don't have enough parking and the parking we do have we'd like to reserve for patients."

The second trolley is expected to start running in a few weeks, once its approved by the city council. The $65,000 will primarily pay for staffing; the city already owns another trolley car.