A year after a crash sidelined it, Sun Link's Streetcar 105 returned to service August 18, dubbed the "Comeback Car" by transit officials and restoring the system's original 10-to-12-minute frequency after months of repairs delayed by a defunct manufacturer and a nationwide search for replacement parts.

On August 16, 2025, Streetcar 105 crashed into Streetcar 103 on North 4th Avenue and East 8th Street, injuring four people and putting both streetcars out of service.

Streetcar 105 underwent several rounds of repairs, including assessments, inspections and reassemblies before it was finally able to return to the tracks.

It made its first trip on the open road, driven by Sun Link's first female driver, Jeannette Haro.

The crash forced Sun Link to reorganize from its original six-car fleet to a five-car fleet, deploying one of its two spare streetcars and stretching the schedule to 15-to-20-minute intervals — still frequent enough that passengers wouldn't need to check a schedule, but a step down from normal service. With six cars back on the road, Sun Link says it can now return to its pre-accident frequency.

Sun Link is the city's busiest public transport system, with ridership peaking at 84 passengers per hour in 2024. By comparison, Sun Tran bus routes peak at 50 passengers per hour.

Sun Link officials originally hoped the streetcar would be back on the tracks after six months, but with the investigation and inspections, the process took longer than planned.

They said its comeback taking place two days after the anniversary of its 2025 crash was a coincidence.

The investigation into the cause of the crash, conducted alongside the Arizona Department of Transportation and the Federal Transit Authority, looked at a wide range of factors from equipment failure to procedures, but determined operator error to be the primary cause. The investigation found that the driver reacted improperly to a signal at the switchpoint.

"Our responsibility as a transit organization goes beyond simply identifying the individual error," said Sun Link, Sun Tran and Sun Van General Manager Mikel Oglesby. "We also had to ask ourselves the much more important question: What safeguards can we put in place so that one human error does not become a single point of failure?"

In response, Sun Link made a handful of changes following the crash with the intention of reducing human error by improving communication between operators and operations control, updating the rules regarding switch point changes, adding trackside verification for critical situations and revamping operator changeover procedures.

Oglesby said it's now "virtually impossible" for a repeat of the accident to occur and that Streetcar 105 has probably "received more attention in the past year than any streetcar in America."

Sun Link struggled to find partner companies to help with the repairs, as most were only willing to help if the damaged streetcar were transported into their shop, which would have been extremely complicated.

They ended up working with consulting firm WSP, which sent engineers into Sun Link to complete the work. The trucks of the streetcar, where the tires are, were completely replaced.

The streetcar's manufacturer, United Streetcar, went out of business years ago, but Sun Link was able to source many replacement parts from other manufacturers. Local company CARSTAR handled repair work on the streetcar's body, alongside Sun Link's own maintenance team.

Oglesby defended Sun Link's safety record, noting that the crash one year ago was the only one in its history, and comparing it to Phoenix, which had 10 streetcar crashes in a single year.

Streetcar 103 received more damage in the crash since it was struck by Streetcar 105. It's still out of commission, and Sun Link does not have a timeframe for its return due to the inability to predict when it can secure the necessary parts that are no longer manufactured.

Officials believe they can get them from the same model of streetcar in cities that are ending their program, such as Portland or Washington, D.C.

Ian Stash is University of Arizona alum and freelance journalist in Tucson. Contact him at ianjgs16@gmail.com.

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