George Conklin wrote:
"Bill Baka" wrote in message
...
Only if nobody rides them. When I was a kid in the Chicago area I could
go anywhere on a weekend with a travel buddy of mine. We took the train
into downtown, then the 'el' ( hard to explain), and over/underground
subway system. Then there were electric trolley buses, and finally
regular buses to get us within walking distance.
And, yes, any one of those modes of transportation sucks fuel big time
if nobody rides them. If they are full they are a good thing. SUV's and
single occupant soccer moms have messed up the equation.
Bill Baka

Actually a SUV would use about the same fuel as a current transit bus.


If it was electric the only defense I can make is that it had better
have some dame good regenerative braking. Then all that mass that had to
be accelerated could charge the batteries again during the stop.
Mass transit is the one place where actual full electrics do make sense.
Since they almost never make it over about 35 MPH in the city there
would be very little in the higher speed move the air and use power mode.
Getting this electricity from a central (clean) power plant would make a
lot more sense than the current non-regenerative and smoky diesels.
A multi million dollar power plant is going to make more power per ppm
of pollutant than ANY car ever will.
No jokes about Hydrogen power plants either.
Bill Baka