Electric Trolley Buses

As early as 1940, New Orleans Public Service, Inc. (NOPSI) began to transition routes formerly served by streetcars to rubber-tired bus transportation. One interesting derivation on this trend toward busing was the system's purchase of 212 "trolley coaches," or electrically powered buses. Utilizing a standard municipal bus body of the day, builders (of which there were several) incorporated an electric motor powered by two overhead trolley wires. These electric buses followed a prescribed route underneath dedicated overhead lines, and they were housed and serviced in carbarns alongside their streetcar cousins. Perhaps ahead of their time, the electric bus routes eventually gave way to standard bus types: By 1953, NOPSI had nearly 350 petroleum-powered buses in operation in the city, and by 1967 all electric units were retired. The roster of electric trolley buses was as follows: