Trolleybus or Bus? Silverline in Boston 2020

Woah! This bus runs on diesel but also on electricity like a trolleybus? So which one is it?
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The four Waterfront routes operate out of an underground terminal at South Station and run through the South Boston Piers Transitway - a dedicated bus tunnel through the Seaport District with stations at Courthouse and World Trade Center. At Silver Line Way, they fan out on the surface: the SL1 to Logan International Airport, the SL2 to Design Center, and the SL3 to Chelsea via East Boston. (An additional short turn route, SLW, runs only at peak hours between South Station and Silver Line Way.) The Waterfront routes use articulated dual-mode buses that operate as electric trolleybuses in the Transitway and conventional diesel buses on the surface. Two routes operate on Washington Street between Dudley Square station (at Nubian Square in Roxbury) and Downtown Boston. The SL5 terminates at Downtown Crossing and the SL4 on the surface at South Station. The Washington Street routes use articulated diesel hybrid buses. ~Wikipedia
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Comment below so we can all have a productive 'conversation about transportation!'
Thank you for all the support!!!

[radosawzebala]

It's a hybrid between bus and trolleybus network.

[Waltervazquez]

Excellent capture my friend like !!! Greetings from Argentina 🙋‍♂️

[baul]

If I'm not mistaken, those buses are proprobably the 2005 Neoplan AN460 trolley articulated bus that doubles as a trolley and a diesel bus.

[Tupolev_Works]

Old Technik. in Germany Called Duobus. The first Tests date back to the 1970s in the Town of Esslingen where i live nearby.
Essen also got Guided Duobusses running with Trams in the Tunnel.

[maddogmcrae]

Never seen or heard of this type of bus.

[strassenbahnfilmguy]

I know the overhead stops but ... its indeed a trackless trolley .

[jopflah]

We Called those trackless trolleys. They only ran if connected to overhead wires for power. Different story if they are hybrids.

[seamusmckeon]

Sad that these are the last trolley busses in Boston

[PhilOutsider]

It’s a trackless trolley, and sometimes it’s a poleless trackless trolley.

[TomMcBoston]

There are plans to connect the two sections of the Silver Line in a tunnel. Chances of those plans being implemented in the foreseeable future are slim.

[kc]

These interesting vehicles are dual-mode vehicles - on the busway portion of the route the bus operates as a trolleybus, then it lowers the trolley poles, starts up the diesel engine and runs as a standard diesel bus for the rest of the outbound trip. Vice versa on the inbound trip. The video clearly shows the pantograph being raised/lowered and the diesel engine started/stopped mid-trip. I don't think such vehicles exist anywhere else in the world. The reason that the Airport route was not a full trolleybus route is that overhead wires are not allowed to be used on an Interstate.

These dual-mode buses will soon be due for retirement and the replacements will not be dual-mode vehicles. At the very least the replacement buses will be hybrids, but will be either trolleybuses with battery storage/operation (like what occurs on at least one trolleybus bus route in Guangzhou, China - trolleybus route 112 (from memory) operates on battery power for 20 minutes past where the overhead wires stop) or full electric/battery vehicles. The latter is my guess.

[EpicThe]

Actually a dual mode bus because you can't put wires on Interstate 90 New York State Thruway & Massachusetts Turnpike Boston Harbor tunnels. Correct replacement for these 2004-2005 Neoplan Dual mode buses are XT60 with diesel engines so that they can go on I-90 Ted Williams Tunnel.

[Bobrogers]

These dual-powered vehicles must be much more expensive to buy than conventional trolleybuses or diesel, but they have served a purpose. The ultimate goal should be all-electric, whether by battery powered buses with recharging at stops or even induction charging in designated bus lanes. Some cities are building or expanding tram lines, but that requires a larger investment. Hey, they spent billions on the Big Dig, so why not doing it for public transportation?

[SteamCase]

Boston one-ups Seattle again! Our E-buses don't have automatic electric poles, it's all manual here.

Interesante video
🤔 Trolleybus 🚎 o bus 🚍🚌

Timosha21

[thepilot]

Должно быть интересно. Я думаю что Бостон единственный город в США с тролейбусама.

[tonyjones]

6 mph @ 6.40. 6mph is a very odd speed limit.

[marykcaine]

My question is: since the opening, have they shown an inclination to limit (or expand) the use of electricity? Or do they use the diesel as much as possible?

[nicomiauroblox]

que chiste por que no va conectado todo en tiempo y en todo el recorrido

[thomasmiller]

the BRT drivers always lay on their horn, we are rapid bus drivers get tf out the