Campaigning for quiet, clean, electric road transport Using Overhead Electric Buses Considerable advances in overhead construction, traction control and ancillary systems make modern electric trolley vehicles admirably suited to today's urban environment. In the context in which we are working i.e. trolleybuses or electric buses of some kind for London, I believe that we should focus on true trolleybuses i.e. as running in Arnhem, Ghent, Athens, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, Edmonton, Moscow, and around 340 other places. Electric buses = battery electric buses are just a non starter given the state of available battery technology, for other than very limited applications. Electric buses = some kind of guided trolleybus represents a range of very interesting opportunities ranging from a true trolleybus with a guidance system the same as or similar to existing guided motorbuses, to what amounts to a rubber tyred light rail system. With the exception of the true trolleybus with the same or similar guidance system to existing guided motorbuses, none of these other solutions can be regarded as anything like proven. The main interest in them seems to be in France, where they have always seemed to have a penchant for rubber tyred trains [like parts of the Paris metro]. Electric buses = fuel cell buses unless powered by hydrogen from renewable sources, are an environmental 'con', apart from being unproven. Fuel cell systems, in practice are just another method of 'burning' fossil fuels with basically the same or similar environmental disadvantages to burning fossil fuels in diesel, petrol, gas, etc., engines. Until there is an infrastructure for hydrogen (and a solar-hydrogen economy is probably the only answer when the oil runs out), hydrogen powered fuel cells are a long term option. Electric buses = various kinds of hybrid electric battery / trolley / diesel / etc., vehicle: none of these technologies can be considered proven. So, in a nutshell, I believe we should promote proven trolleybus technology. I don't think single or double deck is a real issue - producing a DD trolleybus out of an existing diesel bus design [as with the South Yorkshire demonstrator] should be no big deal. However, obtaining a DD trolleybus might be seen as a big problem in some quarters, as London is still widely perceived as a DD bus city, despite the large number of single deckers to be seen on its streets. The main plank of any argument for the trolleybus, in the context of London, has to be environmental, not [just] the obvious zero emissions and low noise levels in the streets, but the effect on the environment as a whole. For operating an urban bus route, NO other kind of bus is anything like as clean as the trolleybus, or is [ever] likely to be. Certainly not 'green' diesel or CNG or fuel cells. Electric operation from centrally generated power is just the cleanest there is At least if he scale of operation is sufficient, there is no economic penalty for operating trolleybuses - lifetime [whatever exactly that might be interpreted to mean] costs for trolleybuses are similar to diesel, and it would seem from Vancouver figures, quite a lot less than CNG. Comparing trolleybuses with light rail is not a direct comparison to make. Light rail is [probably] the best where it can be implemented and passenger volumes can justify it. Trolleybuses are an alternative where otherwise [diesel] buses might be used. However, it could be pointed out that a trolleybus running on a high priority route could offer quite a lot of what light rail does, including the environmental advantages of electric traction, but at much lower cost, etc.

It's time to think of alternatives Download this website (210k zip file) The Ebus Group