A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws power from dual overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires, and two trolley poles, are required to complete the electrical circuit. This differs from a tram or streetcar, which normally uses the track as the return path, needing only one wire and one pole. They are also distinct from other kinds of electric buses, which usually rely on batteries. Power is most commonly supplied as 600-volt direct current, but there are exceptions.
The Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) is the public transit service owned and operated by the City of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada. It operates Edmonton's bus and light rail systems.
The Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority, formerly known as the Miami Valley RTA, is a public transit agency that generally serves the greater Dayton, Ohio area. The GDRTA serves communities within Montgomery County and parts of Greene County, Ohio, USA. There are 31 routes. RTA operates diesel and electric trolley buses seven days a week, 21 hours a day, and provides services to many citizens within the area. RTA's current CEO is Bob Ruzinsky.
Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC) is the contract operator for bus transit services in Metro Vancouver and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority, known locally as TransLink, the entity responsible for public transit in the region. The buses form part of the integrated transit network of the Lower Mainland.
The Boston-area trolleybussystem forms part of the public transportation network serving Greater Boston in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It opened on April 11, 1936, and since 1964 has been operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). It currently includes two physically isolated networks: one serving the towns of Cambridge, Belmont, and Watertown, the other – the Silver Line (Waterfront) – located in the city of Boston proper. Prior to 1964, several additional trolleybus lines were in operation in Boston proper. Measured by fleet size, the system was the third-largest trolleybus system in the United States at its peak, with only the Chicago and Atlanta systems having more trolleybuses than Boston's 463.
The High Level Bridge is a bridge that spans the North Saskatchewan River in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Located next to the Alberta Legislature Building, the bridge linked the separate communities of Edmonton and Strathcona, which became one city in 1912. It was designed from the outset to accommodate rail, streetcar, two-way automobile, and pedestrian traffic. The original bridge design included three tracks on the upper deck. The first CPR train operated on June 2, 1913, after which the bridge became a part of the Calgary-Edmonton main line. Streetcar service started on the west streetcar track of the bridge on August 11, 1913 with the east streetcar track opening by September of that year and automobile traffic after that. Automobile traffic did not begin at the same time as CPR and streetcar traffic as the lower deck had not been completed and the installation of galvanized iron under the tracks was still needed to prevent cinders dropping from steam trains onto traffic on the lower deck. Streetcars travelling northbound operated on the upstream side of the bridge, and southbound streetcars operated on the downstream side of the bridge; This left-hand operation was contrary to the right-hand driving on the lower traffic deck.
The Transit Museum Society of British Columbia (TMS) is dedicated to the restoration and preservation of decommissioned transit vehicles in Vancouver and the adjoining areas. Based in Burnaby, the Society currently has a fleet of seventeen vehicles: fifteen operational and two non-operational. These vehicles were previously in use by both public and private operating companies between 1937 and 2021.
The Shore Line Trolley Museum is a non-profit organization located in East Haven, Connecticut. It is the oldest operating trolley museum in the United States. It was founded to preserve the heritage of the trolley car. The museum includes exhibits on trolley history in the visitors' center and offers rides on restored trolleys along its 1.5 miles (2.4 km) track. The ride includes a tour of the museum's historic trolley collection.
The city of Edmonton, Alberta, has a transportation network fairly typical for a Canadian city of its size, involving most modes of transport including, but certainly not limited to, air, rail, road and public transit. 8 With very few natural barriers to growth and largely flat to gently rolling terrain bisected by a deep river valley, the city of Edmonton has expanded to cover an area of nearly 768 km2 (297 sq mi), of which only two-thirds is built-up, while the metropolitan area covers around 9,430 km2 (3,640 sq mi). This has resulted in a heavily private transportation-oriented transportation network typical of any other city of its size in North America. However, Edmonton does not have the extensive limited access freeway system typical of what one would find in a US metro area, and the road network is somewhat unusual in regard to access to downtown.
The Low Level Bridge is a bridge that spans the North Saskatchewan River in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Completed in 1900, this was the first bridge across the North Saskatchewan River. It was designed to carry a railway, and a railway track was added in 1902 to accommodate the Edmonton, Yukon and Pacific Railway.
The Edmonton Radial Railway (ERR) was a streetcar service that operated in Edmonton, Alberta from 1908 to 1951, being Edmonton's first public transit service, and evolving into the Edmonton Transit Service. At its peak in 1929, the ERR served more than 14.1 million passengers.
Servicio de Transportes Eléctricos de la Ciudad de México (STE) is a public transport agency responsible for the operation of all trolleybus and light rail services in Mexico City. As its name implies, its routes use only electrically powered vehicles. It was created on 31 December 1946 and is owned by the Mexico City government. STE is overseen by a broader Federal District authority, Secretaría de Transportes y Vialidad, which also regulates the city's other public transport authorities, including Sistema de Transporte Colectivo, Red de Transporte de Pasajeros del Distrito Federal and Metrobús, as well as other forms of transportation in the district. STE's passenger vehicle fleet consists exclusively of trolleybuses, light rail, and aerial lift vehicles, and in 2007 its network carried 88 million passengers, of which 67 million were on trolleybus services and 21 million on light rail.
In Atlanta, Georgia, trolleybuses, generally called trackless trolleys there, were a major component of the public transportation system in the middle decades of the 20th century, carrying some 80 percent of all transit riders during the period when the system was at its maximum size. At the end of 1949 Atlanta had a fleet of 453 trolleybuses, the largest in the United States, and it retained this distinction until 1952, when it was surpassed by Chicago.
The Vancouver trolley bus system forms part of the TransLink public transport network serving Metro Vancouver in the Canadian province of British Columbia. In operation since 1948, the system presently comprises 13 routes and is managed by the Coast Mountain Bus Company, a subsidiary of TransLink. It uses a fleet of 262 trolley buses, of which 74 are articulated vehicles.
The Seattle trolleybus system forms part of the public transportation network in the city of Seattle, Washington, operated by King County Metro. Originally opened on April 28, 1940, the network consists of 15 routes, with 174 trolleybuses operating on 68 miles (109 km) of two-way overhead wires. As of spring 2016, the system carries riders on an average of 73,200 trips per weekday, comprising about 18 percent of King County Metro’s total daily ridership. At present in Seattle, a very common alternative term for trolleybus is trolley.
The Dayton trolleybus system forms part of the public transportation network serving Dayton, in the state of Ohio, United States. Opened on April 23, 1933, it presently comprises five lines, and is operated by the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority, with a fleet of 45 trolleybuses.
The Philadelphia trolleybus system forms part of the public transportation network serving Philadelphia, in the state of Pennsylvania, United States. It opened on October 14, 1923, and is now the second-longest-lived trolleybus system in the world. One of only five such systems currently operating in the U.S., it presently comprises three lines, and is operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), with a fleet of 38 trolleybuses, or trackless trolleys as SEPTA calls them. The three surviving routes serve North and Northeast Philadelphia and connect with SEPTA's Market–Frankford rapid transit line.
As of 2012 there were around 300 cities or metropolitan areas where trolleybuses were operated, and more than 500 additional trolleybus systems have existed in the past. For complete lists of trolleybus systems by location, with dates of opening and closure, see List of trolleybus systems and the related lists indexed there.
Fort Sask Transit (FST) is a public transit service in the city of Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. It operates two routes within the city, and a third route is contracted to the Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) to connect with its service network.
