|
The Seattle trolleybus system forms part of the public transportation network in the city of Seattle, Washington. Originally opened on April 28, 1940,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Trolleybus city: Seattle USA )〕 the system currently comprises 15 routes, with 159 trolleybuses operating on of two-way overhead wires that carry riders on over 20 million trips per year, comprising about 20 percent of Metro’s total daily ridership.〔 The current operator of the system is King County Metro, commonly known as ''Metro''. Of the five trolleybus systems currently operating in the U.S., the Seattle system is the second largest (by ridership, number of routes and fleet size), after the San Francisco system. ==History== The first trolleybus to operate on Seattle's streets was in 1937. It was brought to the city for a demonstration to gain public support for a plan to replace the debt-ridden streetcar and cable car system with a "trackless trolley" system. The demonstration was a success, but still reeling from the impacts of the Great Depression, Seattle voters rejected the plan.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.mehva.org/60years.php )〕 In 1939, Seattle received a federal loan that allowed the city to retire the debts from the streetcar and cable car system. Management of system was turned over to an independent commission and renamed the Seattle Transit System. The commission immediately began construction on overhead wire and ordered 235 new trolleybuses, the first of which started arriving in March 1940.〔 The first trolleybus went into revenue service April 28, 1940 on route 13.〔 The system expanded again during World War II, when the Office of Defense Transportation gave Seattle more trolleybuses to meet heavy wartime transportation demands, bringing the fleet to 307 coaches. Ridership reached an all time high 130 million riders in 1944.〔 After the war, ridership on the trolleybus system declined as many American families began purchasing automobiles. The city's aging trolleybuses were spiffed up and the overhead wire expanded in 1962 to serve the World's Fair, but citywide the Seattle Transit System was increasingly abandoning the trolley routes. One year later in 1963 the commission retired 175 trolleybuses and tore down the overhead wire in the north end of the city and in West Seattle. Citizens protested the abandonment of the trolley routes with an initiative to voters in 1964, which failed at the polls. By the end of the 1960s the trolleybus system had been reduced to just 59 coaches operating on 30 miles of overhead wire. Seattle Transit System management defended the move claiming cost savings from using diesel powered buses, the high cost of electrifying new routes and the lack of any new trolley buses on the market. Under fire from the public, the commission ordered an independent study that concluded that trolley buses perform better than diesel powered buses on Seattle's hills and that operating costs were comparable (except for overhead wire maintenance).〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.mehva.org/60years_2.php )〕 By 1970 the Seattle Transit System was facing mounting financial problems, leading voters to eliminate the commission and turn over operation of the system to the city. Voters spoke once again in 1972 when they approved the merger of the now city-owned Seattle Transit System and the privately held Metropolitan Transit Corporation into a single, countywide transit system under the auspices of the Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle (better known as Metro).〔 The new Metro Transit began operation on January 1, 1973 and immediately began working on a plan to rehabilitate and expand Seattle's trolleybus network. On January 21, 1978 the system was shut down and while passengers rode diesel powered coaches, crews began installing new overhead wire, switches and a new power distribution system. During this time Metro also placed an order for 109 AM General trolleys, the first new trolleybuses for the city since the 1940s. The first routes were back in trolley service on September 15, 1979. Over the next two years, more routes were placed back into service as construction was completed and new coaches were delivered. By the summer of 1981, the entire trolley system was back up and running.〔 As the Metro retired the 1940s trolleybuses, a group of its employees founded the Metro Employees Historic Vehicle Association to preserve, restore and operate some of the vintage coaches. In the years since the group has preserved additional trolley and motor buses.〔 60-foot long articulated trolleybuses were added to the fleet in 1986. The 46 coaches built in Germany by MAN were assigned to the busy routes 7 and 43.〔 The construction of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel under 3rd Avenue beginning in 1986 forced many of the trolleybus routes to be rerouted to 1st Avenue for several years. Once construction was finished, the trolleybuses returned to Third Avenue and the tunnel opened on September 15, 1990. The tunnel introduced the dual-mode Breda DuoBus 350 (ADPB 350) coaches that operated on overhead wire underground and diesel on the surface. The Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle was disbanded in 1994, after the public voted to merge it with the King County government. After the merger, Metro Transit became a division in King County's Department of Transportation.〔 In September 1997, King County Metro expanded the trolleybus system, electrifying Route 70 between downtown and the University District via Eastlake Avenue E.〔 Between 2001 and 2003, Metro purchased 100 Gillig Phantom coaches to replace the AM General trolleys. The motors, propulsion controls and other components were removed from the AM General trolleys and placed into the new Gillig bodies along with new electronics from Alstom and fiberglass trolley poles from Vossloh Kiepe. The repurposing of the drive train from the AM General trolleybuses saved $200,000 per coach, totaling $20 million for the entire fleet.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://kingcounty.gov/transportation/kcdot/NewsCenter/NewsReleases/2013/June/nr06172013_trolleycontract.aspx )〕 After the Breda coaches used in the transit tunnel were replaced by hybrid electric buses, Metro converted 59 coaches into electric-only trolleybuses between 2004 and 2007. As a part of the conversion, Metro removed the diesel motors from the coaches and installed new Vossloh-Kiepe current-collection equipment, new interior upholstery, a new driver's compartment, and new LED destination signs. These converted Breda coaches replaced the aging MAN articulated trolleybuses. As Metro's Gillig trolleybuses have aged, the recycled 1979 propulsion systems became less reliable and more expensive to maintain.〔 In June 2013, Metro placed an order with New Flyer for 141 Xcelsior trolleybuses to replace the Gillig and Breda trolleybuses.〔 Eighty-six were to be 40-foot vehicles (model XT40) and 55 were to be 60-foot, articulated vehicles (model XT60).〔''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 311 (September–October 2013), pp. 136–138. National Trolleybus Association (UK). ISSN 0266-7452〕 Because of the expansion of service made possible by Seattle's new transportation benefit district, in early 2015 the order was increased to 110 model XT40 buses and 64 model XT60 buses. The Xcelsior trolleybuses have a distinct purple and yellow livery, that distinguish them from Metro's hybrid diesel-electric and diesel-powered buses.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://seattletransitblog.com/2013/06/18/metro-chooses-new-flyer-for-new-trolleybuses/ )〕 Two prototype Xcelsior XT40 trolleybuses (#4300 & 4301) were delivered in October 2014 for evaluation and testing and the first five Xcelsior XT40 coaches entered service on August 19, 2015. The Xcelsior XT40 & XT60 will be the first trolleybuses in King County Metro's fleet to have a low floor design, a wheelchair ramp (instead of a lift), air conditioning and a auxiliary power unit (that allow buses to operate off-wire for up to 3 miles).〔 Metro says that the New Flyer buses use 25 to 30 percent less energy than the electric trolley buses they replaced, partly because of a regenerative braking system will allow buses to capture the energy generated during braking and feed it back into the overhead wires.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Trolleybuses in Seattle」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|