notes.husk.org/likes images.

Muni Forward: Bus on a Run

We spotted one of Muni’s brand new electric trolley busses on a test-run along Mission Street. Muni has over 300 new 40’ and 60’ busses on order which will completely replace the existing fleet over the new few years, with extras for expansion.

The first bus (no. 7201) entered service last month and we’ll be seeing more of them gradually, as each bus arrives and put through it’s paces before entering active service.

Muni runs the largest electric trolleybus network in the United States and was able to get a better price for the busses by placing the order jointly with the second biggest operator in the country, Seattle’s King County Metro.

The new busses will have low-floors like the diesel-electric hybrid busses, so there won’t be any more stairs to climb.

Onboard batteries will allow busses to run a few miles with the poles down, with a button to pulled them down automatically so the driver can get to the next stop before they need to put them back up. King County Metro plans to use this “hush mode” on each and every trip through the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel where the wires are only compatible with light-rail trains.

The ability to run off the wires will give Muni flexibility to reroute trolleybus lines around obstacles, during outages, and for event service.