Robin van Spaandonk wrote:
> I suppose one every few blocks in an urban
>area might work. Sort of like cell phone towers.
[snip]
You could put them at stoplights, where people stop anyway while
waiting for the
light to change.
In this scheme, the cars would have small, on-board batteries or
capacitors that recharge. The car might be able to go a mile or so on
a full charge to get through dead spots in the network. Conventional
trolly cars using a pantograph have no on-board batteries, so when
the lose contact with the overhead wire they stop dead. This used to
happen to trolly cars in Washington DC at M Street and Wisconsin Avenue.
Some years ago there was a plan in Europe to operate electric buses
with quick charge capacitors. They would recharge at each bus stop,
during the time it takes passengers to get on and off. I see some
problems with that. The charge plugs would be expensive and somewhat
dangerous, and during off hours with light traffic, buses often pass
by stops without stopping.
- Jed
