![]() As in so many other industries, the demands of war opened the door - but not without significant backlash. Philadelphia Transportation Company’s policy allowing Black Philadelphians to work as streetcar operators prompted one of the more infamous local labor actions, at the height of World War II.īefore the wartime labor shortage, Black PTC workers were only allowed to work menial jobs, despite years of effort by Black workers and community leaders to desegregate the higher paying coachmen positions. ![]() Integration of trolley drivers leads to nationally-famous transit strike However, as transportation agencies look into greening, there’s the potential for a slight trolleybus renaissance, as some experts argue they’re a greener form of transit than battery electric buses. ![]() In many cities, trackless trolleys never really caught on like buses have. The city’s been in the trolleybus business for so long that it’s not only the longest-running in the U.S., but the second-oldest operation in the world, second only to Shanghai, China. These vehicles first hit the city in the early 1920s, mostly serving Northeast, North, and South Philly - three routes still run in these parts of the city today: the 59, the 66, and the 75. They’re essentially electrically propelled buses, and SEPTA’s current fleet closely resembles the authority’s buses. Trackless trolleys, or trolleybuses, are vehicles that use overhead wires and trolley poles as a source of power, but don’t run on rails. (Washington University Archives via ) Trackless Trolleys hit the city, become part of lasting legacy SEPTA, which was created in 1964, acquired PTC in 1968. That in turn was leased in 1902 to the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company, which in 1940 restructured as Philadelphia Transportation Company. In the end, the vast majority were subsumed in 1895 into the Union Traction Company.
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