Gibb and Ferrier were onto something big. Over the next decade, more than 100 North American cities, including 14 in Canada, adopted trolley technology. The cities were captivated by the systems exceptional efficiency, flexibility relative to streetcars, virtually zero emissions, low maintenance cost and sophistication.

But that all began to change in the 1950s, as major coach manufacturers like General Motors and oil companies offered attractive incentives for cities to move to diesel power. These powerful interests systematically destroyed North Americas clean electric bus systems, streetcars and trackless trolleys, replacing them with their polluting diesel buses.

Today, in a transit world ruled by the big power of diesel and its associated noxious emissions, just seven cities in North America, including Edmonton and Vancouver, still operate electric trolley buses. Now, in an ill-guided attempt to cut costs, Edmonton Transit is considering abandoning the system altogether.

Its no surprise really, as recent history shows Edmonton Transit management just doesnt see the true value of its remarkably reliable and efficient trolley fleet. The city now has 98 trolley buses, purchased in 1982 as part of a plan to expand the network, but only 37 of them actually operate. The remaining buses just sit in storage.

All the existing trolley routes run through the downtown core and some travel out west to 156th Street, east along 118th Avenue to the Coliseum and south to Southgate Mall. It costs between $1 million and $1.5 million a year to keep those 37 trolley buses on the road and that includes training mechanics, maintenance, parts and electricity, purchased from the citys own power utility, EPCOR.

City managers are now considering the value of the trolley system and a report is to go before councils Transportation and Public Works Committee later this month. But heres the question: How do you put a price on healthy lungs or reduced noise? How do you put a price on quality of life? How do you put a price on history and tradition? And its a rich tradition, which began with that 1938 decision to launch service, making Edmonton the third Canadian city to use the modern trolley bus, after Toronto and Montreal.

Public response in 1939 was exceptional and the city responded by launching a 15-year, $1.5-million modernization of its street railway system. Orders were initially placed with British manufacturers but when the Second World War cut off supplies, American buses were sourced instead. Three US-built Mack buses also went into service in 1943 and then eight Pullman coaches arrived in the summer of 1944.

Early in 1946, two Brill-designed trolley coaches, built by American Car and Foundry of Philadelphia, arrived in Edmonton. Forty-seven Brill coaches manufactured by the Canadian Car & Foundry (C.C. & F.) in Fort William, (now Thunder Bay) Ontario went into service in Edmonton in 1947, including number 148. On September 1, 1951, Streetcar Number 1 made its final run and the system was officially retired.

The trolley then became Edmontons preferred transit vehicle of choice, accounting for more than three quarters of miles travelled. The C.C. & F. Brill trolley coaches proved to be easy to maintain and durable so much so that no new trolleys were purchased for 20 years beginning in 1954, when C.C. & F. stopped making trolley coaches. The Brill trolleys were the workhorses until then and were gradually replaced by Flyers and then the Brown Bovari Corporation and General Motors Canada buses that power the trolley fleet to this day.

Now, Edmonton is one of only two cities in Canada that have chosen to continue using electric trolley buses (Vancouver is the other). The Edmonton trolleys run on seven routes covering 127 kilometres and travel a total of 1.15 million kilometres a year.

If anything, the city should be looking at expanding and not destroying its trolley system. Heres why:
Although their operations are less flexible than that of motor buses, trolley buses are more energy efficient, much quieter and less polluting. They also operate better on hills, require less maintenance and are longer lasting than motor buses. Modern trolley buses have an auxiliary power unit (APU), which allows the buses to travel off-wire for several blocks and avoid anything blocking their normal route, such as an excavation in the street or a street fair.

Diesel buses kick out significantly more noise than trolleys and exhaust known to be a strong carcinogen and a contributor to respiratory problems, heart disease and birth defects. Diesel buses release their emissions in the streets, where they are not only inhaled by pedestrians and transit users, but also are drawn into nearby buildings through ventilation systems.

The power needed to propel trolley buses can be generated hydroelectrically, meaning emissions are virtually eliminated. Power produced at plants that burn fossil fuels occurs mostly outside the city, away from where most people live. That means trolleybuses have the lowest impact on health of any proven bus technology available today.

Edmonton's Transportation Master Plan, adopted by Council in 1999, pledges that the impacts of transportation on the community will be reduced or mitigated. But replacing trolleys with diesels would actually increase environmental impact, adding noise and vehicle emissions to our streets. Abandoning trolleys would also mean throwing away a considerable capital investment. Over the last decade, $10 million has been invested in upgrades to trolley infrastructure and a new trolley bus substation was built three years ago at a cost of $2 million.

New trolleys, including those with wheelchair lifts, are now being built by several manufacturers in North America and overseas. Neoplan USA, for instance, is supplying 28 buses to Boston, while Maryland-based Electric Transit Inc. has recently provided trolleys for San Francisco and Dayton, Ohio. Athens is preparing itself for the Olympics in August 2004 by purchasing 131 new trolleybuses from Kiepe Elektrik and Elbo/Neoplan. The $68 million order will replace the city's existing fleet.

Theres no good reason Edmonton cannot do the same. Trolleys are a rich and valuable part of Edmontons past and they should be a rich and valuable part of its future. The ears, the lungs, the health and the wallets of citizens depend on it.

If you'd like to offer your thoughts, please drop me an email at lawrenceherzog@hotmail.com. For information on reprints of previously published articles, check out my website at www.lawrenceherzog.com