New Trolleys Hit the Streets Today

Today the first 5 of Metro's 174 new trolley buses hit the streets. From here on, Metro will steadily roll out 110 of the 40"^2 coaches, while the 64 articulated 60-foot trolleys are anticipated to start rolling next year. All in all, the entire legacy fleet will be replaced within the next two years.

Metro's spokesperson Rochelle Ogershok says that for the first 3 days (today through Friday), the trolleys can be spotted in service on Routes 1, 2, 3, 36, and 70, and will thereafter go into general rotation on all trolley routes. If you're so inclined, please take some photos if you see one in service and add them to our Flickr pool.

These trolleys will be smoother, quieter, and greatly improve the rider experience in ways that really matter. They feature user-initiated back door opening, off-wire capability to detour around obstructions or construction, air conditioning, all low-floor boarding, and more. The days of waiting for the wheelchair lift to go down, while sweltering on a 95 bus, unable to get out the back door without yelling? Soon a distant memory.