The Trolley Problem: Episode 17

Lithium-ion batteries are here to save public transportation! Just kidding, the problems with vehicle-scale batteries go from bad to worse when the technology is applied large, heavy buses. Battery-electric buses are the US government's latest investment of choice, and we discuss why these buses are inferior to the much older and much more reliable trolleybus. Trolleybuses with charging-in-motion are better for the environment, better for the roads, and best of all, cheaper! They are the electrification solution that denser urban areas with mid to high bus traffic need, with battery-only buses serving a secondary role. Links and stuffs Merch:https://shop.trlpod.com/ Twitter:@TheRedLine_pod YouTube channel:The Red Line Podcast Spotify:The Red Line Podcast Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/theredlinepodcasters Email:[email protected] Website:https://www.trlpod.com/ 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]Wikipedia: Trolleybus § History [2]Wikipedia: Trolleybus usage by country § North America [3]Low-Tech Magazine: Get wired (again): Trolleybuses and Trolleytrucks [4]Siemens: On the road with electric power [5]Urban Transport Magazine: Bus Electrification: A comparison of capital costs [6]King County Metro: King County Trolley Bus Evaluation [7]Streetsblog MASS: Batteries, Or Overhead Wires? The Debate Over Zero-Emission Bus Technology [8]WHYY: SEPTA's cracking battery buses raise questions about the future of electric transit [9]Wikipedia: Battery electric bus [10]Albuquerque Journal: ABQ's electric bus trial run [11]CT Insider: NTSB joins probe of CT’s 'rare' electric bus fire; only 18 verified incidents globally since 2010 [12]The Guardian: Could trolleybuses be the incredible solution for greener public transit? [13]Wikipedia: Trolleybuses in Dayton [14]The Onion: Obama Replaces Costly High-Speed Rail Plan With High-Speed Bus Plan [15]Bus lane enforcement cameras [16]Trains: Metra board approves deal for up to six battery locomotives [17]METRO Magazine: Metra to Create Battery-Powered Locomotives [18]BNSF: BNSF leads the charge on testing battery-electric locomotive [19]USAID-NREL: Electrifying transit: A guidebook for implementing battery electric buses § 3.3 Charging [20]NEMA: Charging Infrastructure for Battery-Electric Buses [21]Brock Archer: High Voltage Vehicle Firefighting § 5:45 Extinguishing agents [22]Watertown News: MBTA's Electric "Trolley" Buses to be Removed from Service Due to Road Projects [23]MBTA: Invitation for bids - 4/0 grooved bronze trolley wire [24]SLC.gov: 200 South Reconstruction - Transit Priority Corridor & Complete Street