>Question for Evan: Would dedicated bus paths using buses with a
>gas/electric hybrid be faster and environmentally more friendly than light
>rail? We could already have built numerous dedicated bus paths connecting
>the metro area with both downtowns, with buses painted to look like trains,
>for the total amount of money that will have been invested in one light rail
>line. Wouldn't this have been a better idea?
>
>Gene Martinez
>Minnehaha, Ward 12
>
First off, have you priced a new transit bus lately? Do you
realize that they have only half the capacity of a rail coach and
less than half the life? As for the gas/electric hybrid, have you
found any batteries that can handle the current that even an easy
stop would produce? As for the electronics, you'd need locomotive
guage stuff, so you might as well buy a locomotive... You'll also
find rails to be cheaper to build and maintain than a "busway". And
your buses rubber tires will suck up twice as much energy as steel
wheels on steel rails.
Light and commuter rail technology has been proven for over a
century. How many hours service has anyone managed to get out of a
gas/electric "hybrid" bus?
highball!
Dyna Sluyter from Hawthorne
--
Dyna Sluyter
friend of Bill W. and Harry B.
USPS TTO, 554 MVS tour 3 operator, 6610142('96 Mack MR tractor, 2.8m
wheelbase ) de N0EGF, qrv 70cm, 2m, 10-80m
proud IBT and APWU member for over 20 years, solidarity forever!
mk.1 Mini Cooper S, mk.2 Golf diezel, Ranger XL 4x4 longbed ("da
service truck")
R100GS mit seitzwagen, R65LS
Teledyne Titan, Santana, Trek 7300
Quickie GP, Fortress AeroEdge
running C/PM, DOS, Linux, and Mac OS. Micro who?
Amtrak 1007, highball!
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