Trolleybuses in Greater Boston

Boston-area trolleybus system
A trolleybus on route 71 leaving the Harvard bus tunnel in 2006
Operation
LocaleGreater Boston, Massachusetts, United States
OpenApril 11, 1936 (1936-04-11)
CloseJune 30, 2023 (2023-06-30)[a]
Operator(s)1936–47: Boston Elevated Railway;
1947–64: Metropolitan Transit Authority;
1964–2023: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)
Infrastructure
ElectrificationParallel overhead lines600 V DC

The Boston-area trolleybus (or, as known locally, trackless trolley) system formed part of the public transportation network serving Greater Boston in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It opened on April 11, 1936,[2][3] with a large network operating for the next quarter-century. Measured by fleet size, the Boston-area system was the second-largest trolleybus system in the United States at its peak (end of 1952), with only the Chicago system having more trolleybuses than Boston's 463 (with the Atlanta system being close behind Boston, with 453).[2][4] After 1963, the only remaining portion was a four-route cluster operating from the Harvard bus tunnel at Harvard station, running through Cambridge, Belmont, and Watertown. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority took over the routes in 1964.

The system was expanded by the Silver Line (Waterfront), a 2004-opened bus rapid transit network using dual-mode buses which ran as trolleybuses in a tunnel in the Seaport District of Boston before switching to diesel power to serve other destinations. The Harvard lines were converted to diesel hybrid buses in 2022, followed by the Silver Line in 2023.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference tm371 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Murray, Alan (2000). World Trolleybus Encyclopaedia. Yateley, Hampshire, UK: Trolleybooks. p. 79. ISBN 0-904235-18-1.
  3. ^ Sebree, Mac; Ward, Paul (1974). The Trolley Coach in North America. Los Angeles: Interurbans. pp. 32–39. LCCN 74020367.
  4. ^ Carson, O.E. Gene (January–March 1997). "Atlanta [Part 1]". Motor Coach Age, pp. 3–29. ISSN 0739-117X


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