SHERMAN OAKS : Shuttle Service May Use Electric Buses

Battery-powered mini-buses are being considered for a recently funded Ventura Boulevard shuttle service in Sherman Oaks, the president of the Chamber of Commerce said Friday.

Jeff Brain said the electric vehicles, such as those being used in a pilot program in San Pedro, would be at least 50% cheaper to fuel and maintain than the natural-gas powered buses also under consideration.

“These things are cheaper, cleaner, quieter,” Brain said of the battery-operated vehicles.

The buses, which would resemble old-fashioned trolleys, would run along Ventura Boulevard from Fulton Avenue on the east and Firmament Avenue on the west, serving several hotels and shopping areas in between, such as the Radisson Hotel, the Sherman Oaks Galleria and the Sherman Oaks Fashion Square.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority approved a $1.5-million grant for the project in July, which Brain said would be available as soon as the project is approved by the city Department of Transportation.