The Trolley Problem: Episode 17

Links and stuffs

Timestamps

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:46 The News
  • 00:46 MBTA Orange Line shutdown progress
• 04:47 What is a trolleybus?
  • 06:25 Switches
  • 07:30 Two wires
  • 07:52 Charging-in-motion
• 08:25 Trolleybuses in former Eastern Bloc countries
• 10:17 Trolleybuses in North America ^[2]
  • 11:02 Boston
  • 12:23 Dayton, Ohio ^[13]
• 13:06 History ^[1]
  • 14:30 Streetcar replacement
  • 15:25 Survivors
  • 16:18 Interurban trolleybuses ^[14]
• 17:35 The battery-electric bus ^[9]
  • 18:12 Off-wire useful for some routes
  • 19:30 Electrification good
  • 20:37 Huge batteries bad
  • 22:35 Metra and BNSF's battery locomotives ^{[16] [17] [18]}
  • 24:19 Charging means more vehicles are needed
  • 26:13 Cost of charging infrastructure
  • 26:49 Catching fire ^{[11] [21]}
  • 30:20 The University of Utah's one BEB
• 31:15 BEBs work, but trolleys are better
• 32:12 Smaller, safer batteries
• 32:41 Long lifespan
• 33:17 Battery mining bad
• 34:30 Cost ^[5]
• 36:34 MBTA ^{[7] [22]}
• 37:10 Limitations of trolleys
  • 37:22 Infrastructure costs
  • 39:20 Weather
  • 40:32 NIMBYs
• 42:41 The best solution
• 43:09 Salt Lake City: 200 South ^[24]
• 45:34 Outro

References & notes

1. [1] Wikipedia: Trolleybus § History
2. [2] Wikipedia: Trolleybus usage by country § North America
3. [3] Low-Tech Magazine: Get wired (again): Trolleybuses and Trolleytrucks
4. [4] Siemens: On the road with electric power
5. [5] Urban Transport Magazine: Bus Electrification: A comparison of capital costs
6. [6] King County Metro: King County Trolley Bus Evaluation
7. [7] Streetsblog MASS: Batteries, Or Overhead Wires? The Debate Over Zero-Emission Bus Technology
8. [8] WHYY: SEPTA's cracking battery buses raise questions about the future of electric transit
9. [9] Wikipedia: Battery electric bus
10. [10] Albuquerque Journal: ABQ's electric bus trial run
11. [11] CT Insider: NTSB joins probe of CT’s 'rare' electric bus fire; only 18 verified incidents globally since 2010
12. [12] The Guardian: Could trolleybuses be the incredible solution for greener public transit?
13. [13] Wikipedia: Trolleybuses in Dayton
14. [14] The Onion: Obama Replaces Costly High-Speed Rail Plan With High-Speed Bus Plan
15. [15] Bus lane enforcement cameras
16. [16] Trains: Metra board approves deal for up to six battery locomotives
17. [17] METRO Magazine: Metra to Create Battery-Powered Locomotives
18. [18] BNSF: BNSF leads the charge on testing battery-electric locomotive
19. [19] USAID-NREL: Electrifying transit: A guidebook for implementing battery electric buses § 3.3 Charging
20. [20] NEMA: Charging Infrastructure for Battery-Electric Buses
21. [21] Brock Archer: High Voltage Vehicle Firefighting § 5:45 Extinguishing agents
22. [22] Watertown News: MBTA's Electric "Trolley" Buses to be Removed from Service Due to Road Projects
23. [23] MBTA: Invitation for bids - 4/0 grooved bronze trolley wire
24. [24] SLC.gov: 200 South Reconstruction - Transit Priority Corridor & Complete Street