These are letters pages and the views expressed therein are purely the views of the writers; they do not necessarily reflect the views of the editor or publisher of BUSES
CALEDONIA ELECTRICS
The article about First Glasgow's Caledonia garage in the May 2022 issue was very interesting and instructive. It was very heartening to read about bus workers and managers rediscovering the advantages of operating electric vehicles and relearning skills thrown away so rapidly half a century ago.
I have been accused in the past of just ‘wallowing in nostalgia’ when recalling the positive attributes of the trolleybus but there was no doubt that their replacement by diesel buses gave rise to less comfortable services. We were told by the ‘experts’ of the day that diesel buses were more flexible, more comfortable and that (probably the most appalling untruth) ‘diesel fumes were not dangerous’.
The fixed infrastucture necessary to run trolleybuses was seen as a reason for their downfall but as First Glasgow is discovering, well thought out installations result in a very reliable service. To any doubting bus management I would say ‘electric vehicles need fixed installations -get over it!’ Good luck to First Glasgow's efforts, the city will undoubtably get a very high quality bus network.
