That plan would have even phased out trolleys — buses with rooftop forks connecting to overhead wires — which debuted on city streets more than 80 years ago and are, in the words of one advocate this week, “tried and true.” Going exclusively plug-in, including a conversion of bus maintenance yards into charging stations, would have cost more than $1.5 billion, the agency’s transit director Julie Kirschbaum said Tuesday.
The new goals are more of a lane change than a U-turn. But they illustrate how external forces, such as the pandemic disruption and voter discontent, can force a rethink of goals and regulations.