RTD Studies 2 Glendale Routes for Electric Bus Service

Two bus routes through Glendale are among 10 selected for possible conversion to electric trolley bus lines.

For lack of money, directors of the Southern California Rapid Transit District on March 28 pared from 40 to 10 the number of lines under consideration for conversion.

Only between three and five of the routes will be selected in July for initial construction, scheduled in 1995, RTD officials said.

Cities throughout Los Angeles and outlying areas are competing for the electric service because trolley buses, which run on tires and look like regular buses, cause little air pollution and are far quieter than diesel engine buses. Trolleys are powered through cables attached to two overhead electric lines, which would be installed on arms extending from street-light poles and traffic signals along the routes.

The cost to convert the 10 lines is estimated at $570 million and will take at least seven years, officials said. The routes selected are among the busiest, covering 150 miles and carrying about 250,000 passengers daily. The 10 lines selected serve 20 cities in East Los Angeles, West Los Angeles, South-Central Los Angeles, and the San Gabriel and San Fernando valleys.

Routes through Glendale include Line 92/93 from Los Angeles along Glendale Boulevard and Glenoaks Boulevard to Burbank, Sun Valley and Sylmar, a route used by an average of 11,252 passengers daily.

The board also gave high priority to Line 180/181 connecting Pasadena, Eagle Rock, Glendale and Hollywood. Daily ridership on that line is 16,762, among the highest of the district’s routes.