Mercedes-Benz trolleybuses can do almost everything a rail line does
30 August 2022 - 15:40
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No-one can argue with Mercedes-Benz Cars co-CEO Mark Raine’s call for SA to step up its response to the coming revolution in electric vehicles (EV). (“High EV import duty blocking industry transition”, August 28). Who could be better placed to give some leadership in this field than the world’s oldest carmaker?
Sadly, the debate in SA and many other countries revolves around converting cars only, and little is said about converting buses. Car usage needs to drop 50% in many cities to meet climate change requirements. In most cities that means a switch to buses and minibuses. In this respect SA is even further behind the curve than most developing countries. Large amounts are being spent on our underperforming rail services, both Metrorail and Gautrain. Yet in most parts of SA buses and minibuses can do the job better than rail.
In my opinion the best buses in the world in recent decades have carried the Mercedes badge. They were electric trolleybuses, drawing power from overhead lines, introduced in Quito, Ecuador between 1995 and 1999. Numbering 113 in all, some are still in service, with more than 2-million kilometres on the clock. Quito is now foolishly replacing them with a light rail line, when all that is needed is to replace these buses with new ones at a fraction of the cost, and to give them more priority over road traffic where necessary.
The world needs to get over its aversion to electric trolleybuses, which can do almost anything a rail service needs to do, not only in SA but in many other places. A few hundred Mercedes trolleybuses on our city roads would be a good thing. By 2029 lithium and all the other -iums will be giving us so much grief that we will be sorry we didn’t hang good old copper above our streets in 2022 — and made sure it did not get stolen.
Vaughan Mostert North Riding
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
LETTER: Electric buses are overlooked
Mercedes-Benz trolleybuses can do almost everything a rail line does
No-one can argue with Mercedes-Benz Cars co-CEO Mark Raine’s call for SA to step up its response to the coming revolution in electric vehicles (EV). (“High EV import duty blocking industry transition”, August 28). Who could be better placed to give some leadership in this field than the world’s oldest carmaker?
Sadly, the debate in SA and many other countries revolves around converting cars only, and little is said about converting buses. Car usage needs to drop 50% in many cities to meet climate change requirements. In most cities that means a switch to buses and minibuses. In this respect SA is even further behind the curve than most developing countries. Large amounts are being spent on our underperforming rail services, both Metrorail and Gautrain. Yet in most parts of SA buses and minibuses can do the job better than rail.
In my opinion the best buses in the world in recent decades have carried the Mercedes badge. They were electric trolleybuses, drawing power from overhead lines, introduced in Quito, Ecuador between 1995 and 1999. Numbering 113 in all, some are still in service, with more than 2-million kilometres on the clock. Quito is now foolishly replacing them with a light rail line, when all that is needed is to replace these buses with new ones at a fraction of the cost, and to give them more priority over road traffic where necessary.
The world needs to get over its aversion to electric trolleybuses, which can do almost anything a rail service needs to do, not only in SA but in many other places. A few hundred Mercedes trolleybuses on our city roads would be a good thing. By 2029 lithium and all the other -iums will be giving us so much grief that we will be sorry we didn’t hang good old copper above our streets in 2022 — and made sure it did not get stolen.
Vaughan Mostert
North Riding
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
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