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of note, the MBTA is about to replace their last few remaining trolleybuses with battery electric buses... which will require diesel heaters
by andbberger 5y ago
of note, the MBTA is about to replace their last few remaining trolleybuses with battery electric buses... which will require diesel heaters
- upofadown 5y agoIf a heat pump won't work than this might make sense. Better than resistive electrical heat, particularly if the electricity comes from something like coal.
- tapoxi 5y agoI'm in Watertown (served by the 71 and 73) and upset about this, but it's probably the right move given the high failure rates during rainstorms and the inability to pass other busses on the road, causing useless congestion.
- andbberger 5y agodefinitely not the right move! trolleybuses can easily pass other buses. modern trolleybuses have significant off-wire capability, so if MBTA's maintenance is really so bad they're getting dewired in the rain, operators can be keep driving until they get a chance to rewire the poles, or MBTA can put up pole catchers and they can be rewired automatically. MBTA should be putting up more wires, not taking down what they currently have. Battery buses aren't much cheaper than trolleybuses, if it all (they have significant infrastructure costs too), and in every other aspect trolleybuses are far superior
- tapoxi 5y agoThanks, I'm not knowledgeable enough about this but if you're also in Belmont/Watertown you might want to bring it up with Sen. Brownsberger, he has a deep knowledge of the MBTA and was the one who advocated for their dedicated lanes.
- andbberger 5y agonot in Boston anymore and they're scheduled to go out of service in 8 days so...