via Alan Drake and his "Streetcars Desired Everywhere" group on Yahoo comes this "letter of interest" from Skoda Electric USA to RTA. Skoda proposes a partnership with RTA to provide the city with electric trolley buses. Here's the letter:
Mr. Reiss and Mr. Deville,
SKODA ELECTRIC USA is very interested in working with the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority and other interested parties to reintroduce Electric Trolley Buses to your transit system. This letter and its comments are offered as a statement of interest.
Hurricane Katrina caused major destruction to New Orleans infrastructure.. While this event has brought hardship to the citizens and commerce, it has also afforded New Orleans the opportunity to rethink many of the assumptions used to design the existing infrastructure and to improve the city as it is rebuilt.
One of these opportunities is public transportation. RTA was nearing a major bus fleet renewal before Katrina, which flooded half of the fleet. More streetcars arean obvious choice, but each line requires years of planning and building. Electric trolley buses and their infrastructure can be more quickly built and may recieve preferential funding from the FTA.
Skoda, the largest manufacturing company of transit equipment in the Czech Republic, proposes another direction for bus fleet renewal that compliments streetcars; electric trolley buses. Skoda has built 13,000 trolley buses already, a majority of the world fleet. Currently Skoda has approximately 440 trolleys running in the US in three cities, Dayton, Ohio, San Francisco, and Boston.
In broad outline, Skoda is interested in a three-prong deal.
One, RTA places a large order for electric trolley buses (each bus with an optional diesel backup). The larger the order, the more economical the purchase, of course. Skoda is sensitive to design needs and requirements of transit vehicles in the United States and is willing to work with New Orleans on a design which compliments the city.
Two, Skoda establishes a factory in Orleans Parish to assemble these trolley buses for New Orleans and other cities. The degree of local fabrication is a matter of discussion and further study. New Orleans RTA is unique among transit agencies in being the prime contractor for building the Riverfront and Canal streetcars. Skoda is very open to a similar arrangement and may prefer this option.
Three, Skoda will build the local infrastructure (DC rectifiers, overhead wires, and perhaps the electric trolley bus barn) on a turnkey basis for RTA. Skoda views the quality of the electric installation as essential to the proper operation of ETBs and wants to maintain control over this essential element. However, we recognize the expertise that RTA developed in redesigning the electricsupply for the St. Charles Streetcar Line and would like to make use of this local expertise and experience.
This proposal has several advantages for the future of the New Orleans region.
With the current high price of diesel fuel, it might be a good idea for the RTA to reintroduce electric trolleybuses in New Orleans. Remember that NOPSI originally had trolleybuses on St. Claude, City Park, Tulane, Freret, Jackson, Magazine and Broadway (and proposed using trolleybuses to replace the Canal streetcars).
After Jackson and Magazine were finally converted to diesels, the remaining St. Louis Car Company built trolleybuses were sold to Mexico City where the ran for about another 20 years (they were even heavily rebuilt) before being replaced by new Mexican built trolleybuses.
The only drawback to trolleybus service is the overhead which can be damaged extensively by huricanes.
With the current high price of diesel fuel, it might be a good idea for the RTA to reintroduce electric trolleybuses in New Orleans. Remember that NOPSI originally had trolleybuses on St. Claude, City Park, Tulane, Freret, Jackson, Magazine and Broadway (and proposed using trolleybuses to replace the Canal streetcars).
After Jackson and Magazine were finally converted to diesels, the remaining St. Louis Car Company built trolleybuses were sold to Mexico City where the ran for about another 20 years (they were even heavily rebuilt) before being replaced by new Mexican built trolleybuses.
The only drawback to trolleybus service is the overhead which can be damaged extensively by huricanes.
Several months before Katrina,I talked to someone from RTA and asked why don't they look into reintroducing electric buses and was told that the electric distribution infrastructure was not adaptable to trolley bus operation anymore because it was much different today compared to when they ran here years ago. I remember all of NOPSI's electric bus lines ,with their red and white buses. By the way,do you happen to know what color scheme NOPSI's first buses used? I know from some early pictures that they appear to be painted streetcar green,while others appear to have been some light color scheme. When did they adopt the familiar red and white? I have a still photo(on videotape) of the front view of a NOPSI 1934 White 684 running on the Esplanade line. It looks like it's painted in red and white.