With ridership steadily dropping and funding drying up, the city council last night decided to temporarily suspend the four-day-a-week trolley service that connects downtown with the Monterey Street motels.

It costs the city about $30,000 annually to run the service and there are now only about 20,000 riders per year who use it. After fare-box income, it loses about $23,000 per year.

The council asked staff to see if alternative sources of funding could be found. Until then, beginning Sept. 1 of this year, the trolley will stop running Fridays through Sundays, but will continue to run on Thursdays from 3:30 - 9 p.m.