Seattle is only one of five cities in the United States with a trackless
electric trolley bus system.
King County Metro operates 159 trolley buses on 14 routes that ply over 70 miles of trolley wire, and travel 2,906,297 miles annually. Last year, Metro
found that operating new electric trolleys offered a superior financial scenario to new diesel buses. This is even before considering how much better a trolley performs on Seattle's steep hills, or how much less pollution it creates, being supplied by hydroelectric power. If you want to know a little more about how the system works, see some of the
photos posted by a King County bus operator known as
VeloBusDriver. Some of these photo sets explain
the controls of an ETB,
the innards of an ETB—so much cleaner than a diesel but so much more dangerous to poke around in—and
aspects of how the trolley wire itself works, including the "special work" necessary for tasks such
switching routes or
traversing a drawbridge.
posted by grouse
on Feb 9, 2012 -
41 comments
Want to get to that town in the next state on the cheap? Sure, there's Greyhound, but it's hardly a bargain at $32 for a journey from Seattle to Portland. When you really need to save the cash, use
Epic Transit Journeys wiki to plot your route entirely on local transit carriers, allowing you to
get to Stumptown for only $11.50 and a paltry five transfers. For a truly epic journey, cross international borders for the
trip to Vancouver, BC, which includes a lovely 2.9 mi stroll across the border.
Oran Viriyincy's travelogue of this trip includes lots of photos of buses and trains, and the border official's shocked reaction.
posted by grouse
on Nov 9, 2010 -
42 comments
