The counter-arguments presented by the trolley opponents

• The trolley opponents countered the arguments of the PTC by pointing out that the companies were not offering to reduce fares, which remained too high for daily commuting by the average worker.

• They also clarified that they were not opponents of innovation because they were not against electrification per se but only one specific type of electrification. They argued that the trolley was an imperfect system that would be replaced by an alternative system. These alternatives represented progress and not the trolley.  They said that the trolley was merely cheap and not progressive. The success of the trolley in the smaller cities provided another set of symbolic association that contradicted the idea of progress.

Though the public sentiments were overwhelmingly against the trolley, the city council voted in favour of the ordinances by a wide margin.