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Electric Transit, Inc.

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Electric Transit, Inc.
IndustryTransit
Founded1994
Defunct2004
Fatedissolved
HeadquartersHunt Valley, Maryland, United States
ProductsTrolleybuses

Electric Transit, Inc. (ETI) was a joint venture between the Škoda group in the Czech Republic and AAI Corporation in the United States which made trolleybuses for the Dayton and San Francisco trolleybus systems, constructing a total of 330 trolleybuses. ETI was formed in 1994, and ownership was divided as 65% by Škoda and 35% by AAI. The latter was a wholly owned subsidiary of United Industrial Corporation. Up to that time, Škoda had built more than 12,000 trolleybuses since 1935,[1] but none for cities outside Europe and Asia. The ETI joint venture was dissolved in 2004, shortly after an unsuccessful bid to supply trolleybuses to Vancouver.[2][3]

Corporate history and production

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ETI was formed in 1994 as a joint venture, with ownership divided as 65% by Škoda and 35% by AAI.[4][5][6] The latter was a wholly owned subsidiary of United Industrial Corporation[7] and was mainly a defense contractor.[4][8] ETI originally was based in Dayton,[9] but after completion of the contract for that city, the Dayton office was closed and ETI moved its administrative office to Hunt Valley, sharing space with partner AAI there.

AAI announced in 1999 its intent to acquire Škoda Ostrov, the trolleybus manufacturing division of Skoda, as well as the 65% share Škoda held in ETI.[10] United Industrial announced it was selling its interest in ETI in September 2000 to RailWorks Corporation as it planned to exit the transportation market altogether,[11] but RailWorks terminated the offer less than three weeks after the announcement.[12]

In 2003, ETI engaged in a competitive bidding for a large contract (245 trolleybuses) being offered by TransLink, of Vancouver, B.C., Canada for supply of trolleybuses to the Vancouver trolleybus system, but lost out to New Flyer Industries.[3] The joint venture did not seek any further new business, and in May 2004 it finalized an agreement with San Francisco Muni to transfer to Muni its remaining contractual obligations.[13]

Contracts with Dayton and San Francisco

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The company was awarded its first contract in November 1994, when the Miami Valley Regional Transit Authority, of Dayton, Ohio placed an order for 63 two-axle trolleybuses.[14] The order was later reduced to 61 vehicles,[15] and ultimately to 57.[16] Three prototype trolleybuses were delivered in December 1995 and January 1996.[15] These were designated by ETI as model 14TrE, the E standing for "export", and were given fleet numbers 9601–9603 by MVRTA.[16] Following modifications to the design, construction of the 54 production-series ETI trolleybuses for Dayton took place in 1998–99. These were model 14TrE2 and were numbered 9801–9854 in MVRTA's fleet. Among the modifications were the moving of the wheelchair lift from the rear door to the front door, which necessitated widening the body from 98 in (2,500 mm) to 102 in (2,600 mm) and changing from a one-piece windshield to a two-piece one.[1]

In July 1997, San Francisco Muni contracted with ETI for the provision of 250 trolleybuses, comprising 220 standard/two-axle (40 ft (12 m)) and 30 articulated (60 ft (18 m)) vehicles.[17] ETI designated the two types for San Francisco as models 14TrSF and 15TrSF, respectively.[18]

In February 2000, Muni exercised contract options to purchase an additional 20 two-axle and three articulated vehicles. Two prototypes for the two-axle trolleybuses (numbered 5401–5402) were received by Muni in January 1999 and June 1999, respectively,[19][20] while an articulated prototype (No. 7101) was received in April 2000.[21] The 238 production-series two-axle trolleybuses (Nos. 5403–5640) were delivered between May 2001 and early 2004. The production-series articulateds (7102–7133) were all delivered in 2003. All 273 of Muni's ETI trolleybuses had entered service by April 2004.[22]

The last ETI trolleybuses to operate in service on either of the two systems that purchased them did so on October 4, 2019, in Dayton,[23] only four weeks after the last use of 14TrSF vehicles in service in San Francisco.[24]

ETI trolleybus summary
Model Image Client Nos. Qty. Dates Notes Ref.
Ordered Service Retired
14TrE MVRTA
(Dayton, Ohio) 		9601–9603 3 1994 1996 2006 One-piece windshield, wheelchair lift at rear door. [25]
14TrE2 MVRTA
(Dayton, Ohio) 		9801–9854 54 1994 1998 2019 Width increased to 102 inches (2,590 mm) compared to prototypes 9601–9603. Retirement of last active units occurred in October 2019.[23] [26][27]
14TrSF Muni
(San Francisco) 		5401–5640 240 1997 2001 2019 Initial order of 220 expanded to 240 in 2000 via contract option. Two units (5401, 5402) delivered in 1999 for testing. Retirement of last active units occurred in September 2019.[24] [28][29]
15TrSF Muni
(San Francisco) 		7101–7133 33 1997 2002 2016 Initial order of 30 expanded to 33 in 2000 via contract option. One unit (7101) delivered in 2000 for testing. Retirement of last active units occurred in early May 2016.[30] [28]

Production

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With both the Dayton and San Francisco orders, the chassis/body-frame (or shell) and motors of each vehicle were fabricated at Škoda's plant in Ostrov nad Ohří, Czech Republic, then shipped to a facility in Hunt Valley, Maryland (near other AAI facilities) for initial fitting-out.[7][9][31] Except in the case of the prototypes, final fitting-out was undertaken in leased premises located in the two cities purchasing the vehicles, Dayton and San Francisco.[32]

See also

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References

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  • Various issues, Trolleybus Magazine (ISSN 0266-7452). National Trolleybus Association (UK). Bimonthly.
  • Bushell, Chris (Ed.) (1998). Jane's Urban Transport Systems 1998–99, p. 557. Jane's Information Group (UK). ISBN 07106-18123
  1. ^ a b Wilkins, Van (Summer 1996). "New Electric Trolley Buses in Dayton". Bus World. p. 18. ISSN 0162-9689.
  2. ^ "Trolley bus prototype on the way: First of 228 electric buses to undergo testing at TransLink". Peace Arch News. Surrey, British Columbia. June 17, 2005. p. 21. ISSN 0700-9003.
  3. ^ a b Bouc, Frantisek (July 15, 2004). "Trolley bus maker hits the brakes". The Prague Post. Archived from the original on August 14, 2004. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Schultz, Russell E. (2003, No. 4). "System Spotlight: Dayton". Motor Coach Today, pp. 3–8. Motor Bus Society.
  5. ^ Morgan, Steve (September–October 2018). Trolleybus Magazine No. 341, p. 176. National Trolleybus Association (UK). ISSN 0266-7452
  6. ^ "AAI in venture with Czech firm". The Baltimore Sun. February 24, 1994. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  7. ^ a b Schneider, Greg (April 16, 1997). "AAI group favored for trolley fleet job – San Francisco car contract worth $207 million". The Baltimore Sun. p. 1C. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  8. ^ Shelsby, Ted (June 28, 1994). "AAI Corp. restructuring to cut costs, few jobs". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Bus frames have arrived". Dayton Business Journal. March 25, 1997. Archived from the original on May 22, 2007. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  10. ^ "AAI Corporating Acquiring Joint Venture Transit Partner" (Press release). AAI Corporation. May 11, 1999. Archived from the original on August 11, 2002.
  11. ^ "United Industrial To Sell Transportation Systems Business" (Press release). United Industrial Corporation. September 6, 2000. Archived from the original on August 31, 2003.
  12. ^ "RailWorks Terminates Agreement to Purchase United Industrial's Transportation Systems Business" (Press release). United Industrial Corporation. September 26, 2000. Archived from the original on June 14, 2004.
  13. ^ "United Industrial's AAICorporation Subsidiary Announces Agreements to Accelerate Exit from Discontinued Transportation Operations" (Press release). United Industrial Corporation. May 4, 2004. Archived from the original on June 30, 2004.
  14. ^ Miami Valley Regional Transit Authority (now GDRTA) (Nov. 1, 1994). “RTA Awards Official Contract for 63 New Electric Trolleybuses.” Press release.
  15. ^ a b Trolleybus Magazine (TM) No. 206 (March–April 1996), pp. 50–51. ISSN 0266-7452
  16. ^ a b Trolleybus Magazine No. 207 (May–June 1996), p. 83.
  17. ^ Finnie, Chuck (June 1, 1999). “Muni trolley firm in crisis”, San Francisco Examiner, p. A-1.
  18. ^ Trolleybus Magazine No. 228 (November–December 1999), p. 144.
  19. ^ Trolleybus Magazine No. 224 (March–April 1999), p. 47.
  20. ^ Trolleybus Magazine No. 227 (September–October 1999), p. 119.
  21. ^ Trolleybus Magazine No. 232 (July–August 2000), p. 93.
  22. ^ Trolleybus Magazine No. 256 (July–August 2004), p. 98
  23. ^ a b Trolleybus Magazine No. 349 (January–February 2020), p. 37.
  24. ^ a b Trolleybus Magazine No. 348 (November–December 2019), p. 235.
  25. ^ Trolleybus Magazine No. 269 (September–October 2006), p. 119.
  26. ^ "Greater Dayton RTA launches design for new NexGen fleet" (Press release). Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority. April 24, 2018. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  27. ^ "German transit industry leaders visit Greater Dayton RTA ahead of NexGen trolley delivery" (Press release). Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority. March 11, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  28. ^ a b "Appendix B: Vehicle Replacement and Procurement" (PDF). 2014 SFMTA Transit Fleet Management Plan (Report). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. March 2014. p. 14. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  29. ^ "Table 28. FY 2017 SFMTA Transit Fleet Inventory" (PDF). Short Range Transit Plan: Fiscal Year 2017 - Fiscal Year 2030 (Report). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. 2017. p. 72. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  30. ^ Trolleybus Magazine No. 330 (November–December 2016), p. 188.
  31. ^ "About Trolley Buses: Procurement Program Highlights". San Francisco MTA. Archived from the original on December 18, 2011. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  32. ^ "Electric Trolley Buses". AAI Transportation Systems. Archived from the original on October 23, 1996.
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