Kicking the tires on battery-electric buses
The better option now for Greater Boston is the electric trolley bus
https://commonwealthmagazine.org/
Hi Folks:
I just came across another interesting article by Alon Levy dealing with electric buses and in motion charging. Alon is saying that with today's technology, for cities with cold weather and hills, the battery bus may not be able to be successful. For those cities with existing trolleybus networks, they should give trolleybuses a try with in motion charging technology. The question is if battery buses cannot solve the cold weather and hill problem, will cities that opt for clean buses will re-establish trolleybus networks? Take the case of south Philadelphia. I believe that the two southern routes, Tasker-Morris and Snyder still have wired portions up. Philadelphia is testing with Proterra electric buses. If they fail, would Philadelphia re-establish the two southern trolleybus routes? Do not forget that the poles are up and perhaps portions of the wire and fittings need to be replaced? I believe that unfortunately, trolleybuses are a hard sell because of the wires and flexibility issues. A city will be willing to deal with weight problems on their buses and charge times rather than setting up new trolleybus systems, unfortunately. IMHO. Below is what it left on Snyder Avenue in Philadelphia at th western end of the former trolleybus route. Using Google Maps, you can see that most of the wire is gone, but the power utility poles remain in many places. If the Proterra buses fail, would SEPTA re-invest with trolleybuses for Tasker-Morris and Snyder Avenues?
