Hmm, this thread hasn't been updated in a while. The C Line will open on June 8th. Some of the buses have been running on the A Line for operators to get used to them, though I think it's only been the diesel ones so far. Since the A Line isn't set up for electrics, I think they could only make a few round-trips on the route.
I missed the earlier trolleybus discussion. I've been leaning in the direction that we should consider getting those over BEV buses on future route upgrades, since they'd presumably be lighter and cheaper than the battery electrics, and would do away with any range issues. Oddly, it appears that new trolleybuses are just as pricey as BEVs, though I suspect that has more to do with the rarity of them than an inherent cost difference, but it's hard to say. SF Muni bought the 60' trolleybus model of the New Flyer Xcelsiors for $1.1 million each a few years ago:
https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/munis-b ... ults-show/
I'm still pretty concerned about weight with BEV buses. That extra weight causes more damage to roadways and presumably makes it harder to stop (though at least EVs can use regenerative braking to assist the normal brakes). That's a reason I feel LRT or streetcars can be better -- their weight damage is limited to the rails they ride on.
I'm not sure how accurate it is, (and it could easily vary depending on pack size) but this site says the electric version of the New Flyer bus being used is 6,500 lbs heavier than the diesel (45,500 vs. 39,000, although the hybrid splits the difference at 42,000. No info on the trolleybus version):
https://cptdb.ca/wiki/index.php/New_Fly ... tries_XD60
https://cptdb.ca/wiki/index.php/New_Fly ... tries_XE60
https://cptdb.ca/wiki/index.php/New_Fly ... ries_XDE60
https://cptdb.ca/wiki/index.php/New_Fly ... tries_XT60
I think Metro Transit wants to eventually have buses that will have 2-3x the driving range of the ones they're getting for the C Line. They might be able to upgrade the battery pack during mid-life overhauls of the buses, but it's hard to say. From a presentation I watched several weeks ago, it sounds like they're expecting to get from around 120 miles in the current version to over 200 miles around 2022, though we'll see if that actually pans out. I'm fairly dubious of that large of an increase in that time frame (but hey, if you track the range of the Nissan Leaf over the last decade, they've had an impressive increase)..
Even if range increases that fast, I wonder if the weight will continue to climb. I hope the weight is able to peak soon and it begins on a downward trend, but my gut tells me we'll probably have to wait at least a decade for that to happen.
Anyway, apologies if this has been brought up elsewhere...