LOS ANGELES : Transit Authority Rejects Electric Trolley Bus Project
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has quashed the controversial electric trolley bus project, saying the money could be spent more wisely on other endeavors.
The MTA board, which had invested $11.6 million in the project, voted 8 to 4 to halt the trolley buses and wait for more evidence about other modes of non-polluting transportation, such as vehicles powered by fuel cells. The decision means the agency can spend $38 million on other projects, including the Pasadena line, said Franklin White, the agency’s chief.
The board had been asked to choose between allocating $50 million to launch the trolley buses on one demonstration line or to stop the program. The agency, which is facing a $126-million operating shortfall, decided this fall to purchase low-polluting alternative-fuel buses, which would meet more stringent clean air requirements--making the trolley bus less essential, some board members said.
“We can use our dollars in better ways,” said MTA board member Mel Wilson.
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