Ebbie, how would a system like THIS work for Juneau (note the poles and overhead wires)?

For years, Seattle's public transportation system consisted almost entirely of electric trolley buses, a sort of hybrid. Worked very well. Then, as in Southern California (and probably urban areas all over the country), the manufacturers of gas and diesel buses, along with the oil companies, talked the Metro council into "modernizing."   These trolley buses were retired in favor of gasoline and diesel buses, and now the pervading aroma around downtown Seattle is diesel fumes. Thank God for frequent breezes off Puget Sound!

However, more and more, the electric trolley buses are coming back (the photo shows one of the new ones going into service).

Stringing overhead wires over selected roads and streets that already exist would be nowhere near as costly as putting in light rail, and getting electric trolley buses instead of rail cars should be pretty much of a wash. And any potential increase in traffic congesting caused by the ETBs should be more than compensated for by the number of cars taken off the roads because the drivers of those cars are now riding the ETBs.

Just an thought.

Don Firth