January 2008

Environmentally-Friendly Trolley Buses Cause “Bus Bunching,” Crowded Aisles

By Kerry Fleisher

The 22-bus, which starts in the Marina, wends its way through the Fillmore and Inner Mission and then zig-zags through Potrero Hill, transports a veritable cross-section of San Francisco’s diverse ethnic heritage.  Third-generation Russians; Spanish-speakers from Central America; and students of all backgrounds huddle together on the same crammed bus aisles.  But when the buses’ trolley poles plunge off their wires, all boundaries created by color, sexual orientation, age and creed are transcended by one collective sigh: the bus has stalled, once again, in the middle of an intersection. 

San Francisco Municipal Transport Authority (SFMTA) has the largest trolley-bus fleet of any transit agency in the United States, a distinguishing trademark of the City’s cutting-edge environmental policy.  The trolley buses are almost entirely pollution-free, running on energy created by San Francisco’s hydroelectric-powered Hetch Hetchy Water & Power Project.  However, this environmental upside comes with practical downsides that are hard-to-stomach for commuters.

“The timing is always really off.  There always seems to be one bus trailing with no passengers,” complained Sharon Rosselli, who works in an art studio on Third Street and commutes from the Mission.  “Because buses can’t pass each other, if there’s ever a mechanical problem, there’s always two, or even three, buses next to each other.”

“Bus bunching” on Potrero Hill’s 22 is a constant set-back for rush hour commuters. “It’s the worst on 16th Street, especially near the Mission Bart station,” said Geraldo Sanchez, who works in the Potrero Shopping Center.  “Honestly, sometimes it’s so crowded on one bus I’d rather just be late for work and take the next one, even though I’ve been waiting for 20 minutes.”

The trolley buses are technologically capable of passing cars parked in side lanes, but it’s not possible for trolley buses to pass each other without removing their cables.  Once the cables are manually removed, the trolley buses can rely on their auxiliary power unit (APU), which enables them to travel free-standing in case of a mechanical failure.  The APU only provides enough energy to power a bus for several blocks.

“It does feel good to know the buses are good for the environment,” said one bus driver assigned to the 22-route.  “You get used to having to stop the bus, walk out, put up the poles when they fall off, and then deal with the irritated passengers.”  Ogie Asuncion, who regularly drives the 22-route, agreed that it’s nice to do his part for the environment.  “And I don’t smell like diesel at the end of the day,” he said.

Bus driver Dad Lu, who regularly plies the 22-route, has seen a marked improvement in on-time arrivals during his tenure as a bus driver.  “To their credit, Muni keeps trying to improve things around here,” he said.  SFMTA contracted with Next Bus, Inc. this past year to provide passengers with satellite technology that tracks trolley bus movements in real-time.  Commuters can preview bus arrivals on the internet with SFMTA’s online tool “Next Muni” or from electronic information boards located at bus stops throughout the City.   

Last spring SFMTA hit the road with a new fleet of diesel-electric hybrids.  These buses rely on a combination of electric and mechanical energy; a small diesel engine turns a generator that supplies the bus with electricity, while traction batteries supply power for acceleration.  The newfangled buses are not attached to overhead wires, and the SFMTA proudly promotes their roomier low-floor design on its website.

Not all members of the transport community are impressed with the diesel-electric buses, however.  “Those things have no power,” said one bus driver on the 48-route.  “They just have very slow acceleration compared to the diesel buses.”  He, along with a handful of other drivers, have complained about the constrictive nature of some of the driving gears, which has prompted a bus redesign.

Following on the heels of the diesel-electric hybrid expansion, Mayor Gavin Newsom raised the environmental notch even higher by requiring all of the City’s diesel-engine vehicles to be fueled with biodiesel (B20), a goal that was achieved last month.  B20 is comprised of 20 percent biofuel and 80 percent traditional petroleum diesel fuel, a combination that results in lower emissions of greenhouse gases and health-damaging small particulates. 

Lu is glad to hear about the switch to biodiesel, but he hopes the SFMTA will dispatch the diesel-electric hybrids to the 22-route soon.  “On this route we have to deal with the elderly and disabled.  This route is a lot harder than most,” he said.  “These buses could help make the waits for passengers shorter and make everything move faster.” 

The SFMTA hopes to be 100 percent greenhouse gas emissions-free by 2020.  In the meantime, passengers on the 22 will most likely continue to gripe about the crowded aisles and bus bunching, with the nontrivial consolation that their commute is close to emission-neutral, and, as one passenger on the 22-route noted, “At least this bus is faster than the [Third Street] T train.”

 

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