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City Council puts brakes on Plan to Scrap Trolleys
Decision preserves quality of life for core neighborhoods and downtown

In an 8 to 5 vote July 27th, Edmonton City Council rejected an administrative proposal to terminate trolley bus service this summer, allowing 46 core neighborhoods to continue to benefit from the quiet and emission-free operation of electric trolleys. An extension of the trolley system to Northgate is to be considered in the 2006 budget. A new low floor trolley bus as well as a hybrid diesel-electric bus are to be acquired for testing and evaluation, and an assessment of new trolleys, hybrids and other technologies is to be presented to Council in 2008, in time to replace the trolley fleet by 2010.

Various community leagues, residents and organizations, including the Citizens for Better Transit, have repeatedly asserted that the trolley's benefits of low noise and zero in-street pollution offset their incremental costs when they are used on busy routes and in high density core areas of the city. According to transit schedules, Inglewood and Westmount residents, for example, would have been subjected to the noise and pollution from 300-400 more diesels passing by each weekday, had trolley service been terminated.

Much of the trolley vs. diesel debate centred on costs. Arguments to abandon trolleys cited the expenditure of maintaining overhead wires. However, over a ten year period, it would cost as much to take the wires down as it would to maintain them, making claims of operating savings by abandoning trolleys dubious. $12 million in recent investments in the system would be lost. If diesel fuel costs continue to rise the way they have in each of the past three years, any financial gains from abandoning trolleys would indeed be short lived.

Although Council's decision does not commit to new trolleys just yet, critics of the motion drew attention to the cost of new trolley buses—at twice the price of new diesels. Edmonton will need to look at renewing its trolley fleet within the next six years. A consultants report released in January—highly criticized for oversights and analytical errors—examined only one high cost scenario for keeping trolleys. The ETS Advisory Board recommended an alternate scenario that would allow renewal of the trolley fleet without spending more over a ten year period than the city would spend on new diesel buses to replace the trolleys. But to benefit, the city would have to act soon. While new trolleys cost more, they typically last about 1/3 longer and have lower maintenance requirements despite consistently heavy service conditions. There is also evidence that well run trolley services attract more riders than diesel buses, increasing revenue. European cities have demonstrated a business case for trolleys on this basis.

Edmonton's trolleybus system has suffered from a lack of commitment in recent years. Paring down trolley service has driven up operating costs. At the July 27th meeting, Councillor Bryan Anderson made a motion directing administration to maximize the cost-benefit of operating the trolley system. This could mean staggering summer road construction projects to minimize interference with trolley operations, as noted by City Manager Al Maurer.

Citizens for Better Transit applauds the vision shown by Edmonton councillors to retain the trolley system as an option not only for today, but for the future. The flexibility of electricity as an energy source and its relative stability compared with the eventuality of sharp diesel price increases make trolleys a wise choice for a city that already has a sizeable investment in this technology. And there is simply no arguing the benefits of low noise and zero emissions in 46 core neighborhoods!

For detailed information on the trolley issue, click on the points below: