>>1524399>Can those electric buses charge quickly enough though?Apparently they can. They need to spend a few minutes at the charging stations tho. But a few places have them already running regular service, so it's past the earliest experimental phase.
That said I don't fully trust the system. It seems like a bunch of problems waiting to happen. Like unexpected traffic on a hot day making the batteries run low from the a/c. Increased maintenance because of the batteries. Or if one charging station breaks down you can't run the line at all.
Modern trolleybuses otoh don't have those problems, they can run for several kilometers without wires, so detours or wire issues can be avoided with no problem. And they don't need to shut off the a/c to avoid running out of power.
>I don't see how putting one power pole every five or ten stations is "more infrastructure" compared to pulling a catenary wire along the entire route.fair point, but the issue is probably more the flywheel apparatus, and the lack of reliability, since the energy is very limited. If the bus doesn't make it to the station in time it can't keep running, detours are impossible.
btw I just noticed that that pic is from Zurich, the bus is by MFO, Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon. Interdasting.
Here's an MFO promotional film from 1939 presenting trolleybuses:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_aDQDUzafo 