Hi all! In responding to a few comments here: I for the most part do not edit the sound of any of my clips - its what my camera or Iphone captures :) (Occasionally I may reduce the volume if the wind is very loud for an example...)
The best part of San Francisco's electric-powered Muni vehicles is they're powered by the Hetch Hetchy hydroelectric dam. So there's very minimal air pollution anywhere. Even the big motors that move the cables for the cable cars are powered by this dam.
@@chromebomb I have been living in Sf for the last 16 years im 35 now, and nowadays there is nothing good anymore. Nothing but homeless and shit and garbage everywhere. The once beautiful city has completely decayed into a shithole like no other. Not just SF but the whole state of California. You can't even leave a piece of paper in your car or else someone will break the window and take it you can't even get on the bus without some crazy motherfucker getting on the bus also or some homeless people who stink like dead animal. You have to watch where you walk, or else you will step on piss and shit. Too many empty lots and overpriced housing. Stores and restaurants leaving for good. Nothing good to see here. Don't come here, spend your money and time elsewhere, maybe that other place will be better
I have never thought, that city SAN FRANCISCO (worldwide famous for the cable car system - cable trains) has also TROLLEYBUSES, and so many, even 278 vehicles in the city are driving even today in 2023! Definitely I should visit SAN FRANCISCO to drive some TROLLEYBUSES!
Thank you for your trolley bus footage. I moved to San Francisco in 1981. At that time there were two diesel bus lines that had trouble climbing the hills when full of riders. Sometimes passengers would be asked to get off bus and walk up the hill so the bus could make it up the hill. The bus would then wait for the passengers at the top of the hill. Those two lines were the 55 Sacramento and 24 Divisadero. Each was converted to trolley bus lines. The 55 Sacramento was joined with an existing trolley bus line and is now called 1 California. In each case the buses now have no problem making up the hills with full passenger loads. In addition the 31 Balboa diesel bus line was also converted to trolley coach operation in the 80s.
Hello from Lithuania 🇱🇹! It’s really cool to see that San Francisco has trolleybuses. Vilnius has one of the largest networks in Europe, with 17 routes. I also remember that San Francisco used to have Škoda 14Tr trolleybuses. Such a shame to see that they have been retired. I saw them in my last visit to San Francisco.
Thank you...we're proud of the trolleybuses, and have the largest system in the US with 15 routes. I too am nostalgic about the 14Tr (especially the sound, that skipping "br-br-br" motor noise when coasting and the whine when leaving stops is an important memory from my childhood) but now I realize that they had to go. They were high floor busses when all busses in the US are now low floor. The trolley buses operate on some of the most popular routes so low floor is better for wheelchair access and the elderly. The new buses are also quieter, are built with automatic announcements in mind, and have a great backup battery--they can go for miles off course without being under wire. The new busses have Vossloh Kiepe motors and pantographs from Germany, and sound pretty good in my opinion.
I was upset when we mothballed our trolleybus system in Toronto in 1993. The city tried to turn off the juice in 1991 and nearby Hamilton shut their system in 1992. We had leased newer buses from Edmonton and the didn't want them back yet. Therefore we got a reprieve until 1993. I miss them.
Amazing News, Hetch Hetchy powered!! I came to San Francisco with a car in 1996. I used it for a year, paying for garage space, gas, insurance, servicing and occasional parking tickets, oh, and parking lot charges at many destinations. After 1 year I sold the car. I live 1/2 block from Divisadero and McAllister where Bus 24 Divisadero and Bus 5 Fulton cross. Great! I, also walk a lot and feel it has kept me healthy and limber and with extra money in my purse. I am SO GRATEFUL TO SAN FRANCISCO and MUNI!
Nice video. Viewing your SF videos i have the idea that San Francisco has more use of public transport than other cities in United States. Nice trolleybuses and Greetings from Valparaiso, Chile.
They do, In fact more than 30% of commutes take place on public transport and half of the residents don't have cars. The only city that beats SF in mass transit use is New York.
I regularly ride a 18 meter articulated bus in San Francisco and it was always standing room if not outright crush load. Then came the pandemic and all the San Francisco bus and streetcars and metro trains became empty. As of 2022, the line I still ride regularly has KIND OF returned to standing room but there aren't too many crush loads YET.
Edmonton had similarly large network as recently as 2006... However the city foolishly killed it to "save costs"... With oil being what it is... Good luck with that! The only downside was the violent shudder the bus took when it came off the wires... I went flying once and smashed my skull pretty hard while aboard one... Thankfully buses with battery backups have solved that one...
No. If the trolley poles fall off the wire, they must manually be re-attached with a long pole. They don't go through places without overhead wires. Edit: This is the case in Vancouver, but it might be different in San Francisco.
There are lines where the wires are lowered for battery power use for the final few miles of their route such as the 45 Union/Stockton and the 30 Stockton where you’ll see the wires lowered around the Stockton Tunnel either right before or immediately after exiting the tunnel towards Caltrain
@@liamm32 : They New Flyers trolleybuses have batteries that allow them to travel a pretty decent length with the poles down. When Stockton Street was reopened from Geary to Market, the 30-Stockton and 45-Union used to pull their poles down from Sutter to past Market for months after the reopening as the wires had not been re-installed along that section of Stockton and wouldn't be for months. The previous ETIs trolleybuses that ran from 2001 to about 2018 also could operate with their poles down but in a much more limited basis; perhaps a couple blocks or so; mainly to get around obstructions along their route. Before the ETIs, the old Flyer trolleybuses of the 1980s and 90s had NO batteries at all and if there were obstructions there was nothing that could be done as the Flyer trolleybuses weren't going anywhere if they had to pull their poles down.
That's a poor name for them. They're electric buses powered by the overhead lines. The operator still has to maneuver. Also, if there's a power outage on the route, buses have several miles of range on internal batteries. The main electric bus garage is on 17th/Bryant, they park all the buses with the yellow poles there overnight, they're just out in the open.
It’s controlled by the operator. The lines have an inductive switch the operator steps on the turn signal to whatever direction they need to go and at designated stop the poles will go where the operator wants them to.
I don't make edits to the audio - I use whatever audio was in the clip recorded by the camera - could be that it is noisy to begin with or the angle and location I filmed these trolleybuses from....
@@m0istl0la97 Philadelphia's trackless trolleys have a small diesel generator. They have semi-automatic trolley poles in Philly. They were too cheap to get fully automatic poles.
99.9% of the time I do not do any audio editing so what you see is what the camera recorded - sometimes a clips sound will be reduced (maybe there was too much loud wind etc.)
I presume you've never ridden a public transit bus as all that ratting IS VERY NORMAL. Diesel transit buses are far worse as you have the rattling AND the very loud diesel engine. That's why in "the old days" people would put their faces in books or newspapers as your brain then "blocks out" the rattling noise. Of course today everyone uses ear buds. The rattling is due to the simple fact that have very stiff shock absorber systems for the simple reason that the shock absorber system REQUIRES STIFFNESS to take the dead load of the bus and then it also has to be able to take the crush load of passengers.
@@ArchsStanton I take buses very regularly! (Low floor, diesel) Rattling is of course normal, although probably more noticeable in a silent engined electric bus. But this bus sounds even louder than what I’m familiar with I guess. Didn’t know about the cause though! Makes sense.
In cities like Cincinnati, these were the transition away from railed vehicles. Cincinnati was peculiar in that their street cars had two poles, and did not use the rails as the ground return. Dayton Ohio was another special case, mostly because that's where there was a factory to make them
The first trolleyBUSES in North America started to become prevalent in the 1920s. They were called trolleyBUSES because trolley/streetcars (called TRAMS in Europe) were very extensive across North America in the 1920s and as the newfangled "electric buses" WITH THEIR POLES were considered "trolleys with rubber tires instead of tracks" and as a result were also known as "trackless trolleys" but were UNIVERSALLY called "trolleybuses". The first trolleybuses were introduced in San Francisco in 1935 and TO THIS DAY they are officially termed "trolley coaches" by the local transit system *to differentiate them from the diesel buses that are officially termed "motor coaches".*
The trolley buses are still needed for the steep hill areas. Wires don’t need to go anywhere. They’ve been a part of SF long enough. Nevertheless battery buses will be more expensive in the long run. These require a lot less maintenance
Battery buses cause significantly more pollution due to battery manufacturing and have range limitations that trolleybuses don't have, and the trolleybuses take advantage of energy here that is generated 100% by renewable sources. Batteries also significantly limit the lifespan of buses, while trolleybuses can operate for decades with little maintenance. Additionally, battery charging has only a 70-80% efficiency at best, meaning that battery buses will increase system energy demand, and means that a significant portion of the bus fleet will be inoperable for several hours a day due to charge times, forcing muni to buy more buses than it needs. Also, veering off a bit, personally I like the wires, just because they remind me that my city actually cares about the planet. Anyway. I think the electric buses may work as replacements for gas buses, but not trolleybuses.
Off-hand I can think of fifty reasons why you are wrong, David. But no time or desire to debate it with you. Thankfully, you are not in a position of authority to make decisions, with your totally incorrect way of thinking. And thankfully, the new BRT on Van Ness is equipped with all new trolley wires.
@@Fang28 hey thanks for your opinion. I do appreciate other peoples take on matters whether or not I agree with it. Some responders just can’t deal with another opinion without resorting to getting personal or showing attitude like they’re better than you like the following response. I appreciate your input.
@@davidpomeroy7594 I just want to explain my POV in a way that keeps myself open to learning. Maybe I’m wrong about something, and if so I’d rather be open to someone pointing out why. If a clear explanation of my opinion isn’t enough to convince someone, either I’m wrong or they’re immovable. If I were to turn to insults it would disgrace myself and the community. If people were respectful in politics and urban planning, more people would get involved and everyone participating would learn.
Hi all! In responding to a few comments here: I for the most part do not edit the sound of any of my clips - its what my camera or Iphone captures :) (Occasionally I may reduce the volume if the wind is very loud for an example...)
The best part of San Francisco's electric-powered Muni vehicles is they're powered by the Hetch Hetchy hydroelectric dam. So there's very minimal air pollution anywhere. Even the big motors that move the cables for the cable cars are powered by this dam.
The best part about them is all the homeless and drug addicts that get on them.
@@superrunnerx1 i dont think that is the best part
@@chromebomb I have been living in Sf for the last 16 years im 35 now, and nowadays there is nothing good anymore.
Nothing but homeless and shit and garbage everywhere.
The once beautiful city has completely decayed into a shithole like no other. Not just SF but the whole state of California.
You can't even leave a piece of paper in your car or else someone will break the window and take it you can't even get on the bus without some crazy motherfucker getting on the bus also or some homeless people who stink like dead animal. You have to watch where you walk, or else you will step on piss and shit. Too many empty lots and overpriced housing. Stores and restaurants leaving for good.
Nothing good to see here. Don't come here, spend your money and time elsewhere, maybe that other place will be better
And they’re full with all the hobos and mugrats of Crapifornia 🤣
The dam is an abomination environmentally
I have never thought, that city SAN FRANCISCO (worldwide famous for the cable car system - cable trains) has also TROLLEYBUSES, and so many, even 278 vehicles in the city are driving even today in 2023! Definitely I should visit SAN FRANCISCO to drive some TROLLEYBUSES!
I always enjoy watching honorary streetcars. Two poles means twice the fun! Cheers from Wisconsin.
Thank you for your trolley bus footage. I moved to San Francisco in 1981. At that time there were two diesel bus lines that had trouble climbing the hills when full of riders. Sometimes passengers would be asked to get off bus and walk up the hill so the bus could make it up the hill. The bus would then wait for the passengers at the top of the hill.
Those two lines were the 55 Sacramento and 24 Divisadero. Each was converted to trolley bus lines. The 55 Sacramento was joined with an existing trolley bus line and is now called 1 California. In each case the buses now have no problem making up the hills with full passenger loads.
In addition the 31 Balboa diesel bus line was also converted to trolley coach operation in the 80s.
These should be added to about 50 US cities .
Hello from Lithuania 🇱🇹! It’s really cool to see that San Francisco has trolleybuses. Vilnius has one of the largest networks in Europe, with 17 routes. I also remember that San Francisco used to have Škoda 14Tr trolleybuses. Such a shame to see that they have been retired. I saw them in my last visit to San Francisco.
Thank you...we're proud of the trolleybuses, and have the largest system in the US with 15 routes. I too am nostalgic about the 14Tr (especially the sound, that skipping "br-br-br" motor noise when coasting and the whine when leaving stops is an important memory from my childhood) but now I realize that they had to go. They were high floor busses when all busses in the US are now low floor. The trolley buses operate on some of the most popular routes so low floor is better for wheelchair access and the elderly. The new buses are also quieter, are built with automatic announcements in mind, and have a great backup battery--they can go for miles off course without being under wire. The new busses have Vossloh Kiepe motors and pantographs from Germany, and sound pretty good in my opinion.
Trolleybuses don't have pantographs.
@@paulhuggins5901 okay
I like the dusk-nighttime shots. Also seeing the battery/off-wire operation.
I was upset when we mothballed our trolleybus system in Toronto in 1993. The city tried to turn off the juice in 1991 and nearby Hamilton shut their system in 1992. We had leased newer buses from Edmonton and the didn't want them back yet. Therefore we got a reprieve until 1993. I miss them.
Amazing News, Hetch Hetchy powered!! I came to San Francisco with a car in 1996. I used it for a year, paying for garage space, gas, insurance, servicing and occasional parking tickets, oh, and parking lot charges at many destinations. After 1 year I sold the car. I live 1/2 block from Divisadero and McAllister where Bus 24 Divisadero and Bus 5 Fulton cross. Great! I, also walk a lot and feel it has kept me healthy and limber and with extra money in my purse. I am SO GRATEFUL TO SAN FRANCISCO and MUNI!
I see Škoda trolleybuses now gone to history...
Have been gone for a while
One’s still left, 5538
Fascinating video! Electricity is a better choice of power over diesel buses.
Thanks Tim😀💚💚
Little known fact. The trolleys are the little wheels that connect the poles to the overhead wires.
Nice video.
Viewing your SF videos i have the idea that San Francisco has more use of public transport than other cities in United States.
Nice trolleybuses and Greetings from Valparaiso, Chile.
They do, In fact more than 30% of commutes take place on public transport and half of the residents don't have cars. The only city that beats SF in mass transit use is New York.
Yeah, especially for such a small city its fantastic.
@@Ror55555 In size or population? I wouldn't call a city with over 800,000 ppl living there 'small'.
I regularly ride a 18 meter articulated bus in San Francisco and it was always standing room if not outright crush load.
Then came the pandemic and all the San Francisco bus and streetcars and metro trains became empty.
As of 2022, the line I still ride regularly has KIND OF returned to standing room but there aren't too many crush loads YET.
@@AlexCab_49 SF is only 7 miles wide by 7 miles long, it's comparatively small for a city of it's population in the US
Cool video, cool to look at the San Francisco system!
1:02 I find it interesting how the acceleration sounds exactly like all the other xcelsior buses
It looks like you had fun riding around town.
Прикольно смотрится крепления для велосипедов на троллейбусе. А звук электродвигателя как и у наших Адмиралов.
These buses definitely have flexibility of operation as they can operate in revenue service "under the wire" or without it.
What is their range off wire in miles?
😮троллейбус-гармошка
Edmonton had similarly large network as recently as 2006... However the city foolishly killed it to "save costs"... With oil being what it is... Good luck with that! The only downside was the violent shudder the bus took when it came off the wires... I went flying once and smashed my skull pretty hard while aboard one... Thankfully buses with battery backups have solved that one...
Wow!
Trolleybusses >>> electric busses
Always great to watch those trolley buses when in SF. Obviously operating on battery power where overhead lines are not available?
No. If the trolley poles fall off the wire, they must manually be re-attached with a long pole. They don't go through places without overhead wires.
Edit: This is the case in Vancouver, but it might be different in San Francisco.
There are lines where the wires are lowered for battery power use for the final few miles of their route such as the 45 Union/Stockton and the 30 Stockton where you’ll see the wires lowered around the Stockton Tunnel either right before or immediately after exiting the tunnel towards Caltrain
@@liamm32 : They New Flyers trolleybuses have batteries that allow them to travel a pretty decent length with the poles down. When Stockton Street was reopened from Geary to Market, the 30-Stockton and 45-Union used to pull their poles down from Sutter to past Market for months after the reopening as the wires had not been re-installed along that section of Stockton and wouldn't be for months.
The previous ETIs trolleybuses that ran from 2001 to about 2018 also could operate with their poles down but in a much more limited basis; perhaps a couple blocks or so; mainly to get around obstructions along their route.
Before the ETIs, the old Flyer trolleybuses of the 1980s and 90s had NO batteries at all and if there were obstructions there was nothing that could be done as the Flyer trolleybuses weren't going anywhere if they had to pull their poles down.
Oh gosh, they seem so loud...
Interesting how it says "Battery" at 1:12 on the sign.
because thats a street name in SF
That's a poor name for them. They're electric buses powered by the overhead lines. The operator still has to maneuver. Also, if there's a power outage on the route, buses have several miles of range on internal batteries. The main electric bus garage is on 17th/Bryant, they park all the buses with the yellow poles there overnight, they're just out in the open.
They have 3 more barns. I can't remember what they park at Kirkland.
lol thats pretty loud
Does anybody know how the cables know which cable they have to follow?
It’s controlled by the operator. The lines have an inductive switch the operator steps on the turn signal to whatever direction they need to go and at designated stop the poles will go where the operator wants them to.
Are the cables that noisy? or is it just the video
I don't make edits to the audio - I use whatever audio was in the clip recorded by the camera - could be that it is noisy to begin with or the angle and location I filmed these trolleybuses from....
Sadly we tore down our wiring bout twenty years ago in Edmonton ab
😍
I used the MUNI to get to Japantown
I think the trolley buses should have diesel engines in them as back up for when the power goes out.
They have a battery …
@@m0istl0la97 Philadelphia's trackless trolleys have a small diesel generator. They have semi-automatic trolley poles in Philly. They were too cheap to get fully automatic poles.
I wonder why so many buses seems to travel to this strange place called "Mask required" 😜🤣
My goodness they're rattly inside! Is that a problem with the buses? or the roads? They look lovely though!
That one scene certainly sounded like the volume was set to stun! They aren't *THAT* rattly.
@@danielcarroll3358 Thats good to know! Still a bit rattly, but thats normal. Still wish all buses could be quieter inside!
99.9% of the time I do not do any audio editing so what you see is what the camera recorded - sometimes a clips sound will be reduced (maybe there was too much loud wind etc.)
I presume you've never ridden a public transit bus as all that ratting IS VERY NORMAL. Diesel transit buses are far worse as you have the rattling AND the very loud diesel engine. That's why in "the old days" people would put their faces in books or newspapers as your brain then "blocks out" the rattling noise. Of course today everyone uses ear buds.
The rattling is due to the simple fact that have very stiff shock absorber systems for the simple reason that the shock absorber system REQUIRES STIFFNESS to take the dead load of the bus and then it also has to be able to take the crush load of passengers.
@@ArchsStanton I take buses very regularly! (Low floor, diesel) Rattling is of course normal, although probably more noticeable in a silent engined electric bus. But this bus sounds even louder than what I’m familiar with I guess. Didn’t know about the cause though! Makes sense.
Господи, Как же я хочу туда 😢😢😢
And old picture videos on here show this in pics from 1900.
I don't get the comment...
I don't know if these trolleybuses are Air conditioned.
They are.
@@ArchsStanton Thats good.
Я не понимаю за счёт чего они живут. Людей вообще нет
💖💛💚💙💜🤎
these are not trolleys, they are electric-powered buses. Trolleys, or trams are found on Market st/Embarcadero
They are called Trolleybuses because they draw their power through trolley poles.
In cities like Cincinnati, these were the transition away from railed vehicles. Cincinnati was peculiar in that their street cars had two poles, and did not use the rails as the ground return. Dayton Ohio was another special case, mostly because that's where there was a factory to make them
The first trolleyBUSES in North America started to become prevalent in the 1920s. They were called trolleyBUSES because trolley/streetcars (called TRAMS in Europe) were very extensive across North America in the 1920s and as the newfangled "electric buses" WITH THEIR POLES were considered "trolleys with rubber tires instead of tracks" and as a result were also known as "trackless trolleys" but were UNIVERSALLY called "trolleybuses".
The first trolleybuses were introduced in San Francisco in 1935 and TO THIS DAY they are officially termed "trolley coaches" by the local transit system *to differentiate them from the diesel buses that are officially termed "motor coaches".*
In general, the correct name is an electric bus with dynamic charging, this is a trolleybus
San Francisco transportation homeless transit
very sad! #BringBackCableCars
The cable cars haven't gone away.
I live in San Francisco and the trolleys days are numbered. Mta is testing battery powered buses. The wires are visual pollution and they need to go.
The trolley buses are still needed for the steep hill areas.
Wires don’t need to go anywhere. They’ve been a part of SF long enough.
Nevertheless battery buses will be more expensive in the long run. These require a lot less maintenance
Battery buses cause significantly more pollution due to battery manufacturing and have range limitations that trolleybuses don't have, and the trolleybuses take advantage of energy here that is generated 100% by renewable sources. Batteries also significantly limit the lifespan of buses, while trolleybuses can operate for decades with little maintenance. Additionally, battery charging has only a 70-80% efficiency at best, meaning that battery buses will increase system energy demand, and means that a significant portion of the bus fleet will be inoperable for several hours a day due to charge times, forcing muni to buy more buses than it needs.
Also, veering off a bit, personally I like the wires, just because they remind me that my city actually cares about the planet.
Anyway. I think the electric buses may work as replacements for gas buses, but not trolleybuses.
Off-hand I can think of fifty reasons why you are wrong, David. But no time or desire to debate it with you. Thankfully, you are not in a position of authority to make decisions, with your totally incorrect way of thinking. And thankfully, the new BRT on Van Ness is equipped with all new trolley wires.
@@Fang28 hey thanks for your opinion. I do appreciate other peoples take on matters whether or not I agree with it. Some responders just can’t deal with another opinion without resorting to getting personal or showing attitude like they’re better than you like the following response. I appreciate your input.
@@davidpomeroy7594 I just want to explain my POV in a way that keeps myself open to learning. Maybe I’m wrong about something, and if so I’d rather be open to someone pointing out why. If a clear explanation of my opinion isn’t enough to convince someone, either I’m wrong or they’re immovable. If I were to turn to insults it would disgrace myself and the community. If people were respectful in politics and urban planning, more people would get involved and everyone participating would learn.
Disgusting sound I must say
I like it. Better than a loud combustion engine bus or the twenty cars the trolleybus is replacing.