Huh. So, Columbia is the first city in Missouri (and one of the first in the US) to use electric buses. In September, the local transit provider, COMO Connect, took delivery of the first of four battery-powered buses. I didn’t realize the city was doing this until I saw the bus when I was out at lunch today. The city says the buses are more expensive upfront than diesel buses but are cheaper to operate. They’re expected to pay for themselves in 4-5 years. The 40-foot bus has a range of 250 miles, but it only drives 150 miles a day, so it can just recharge at night.
I thought this was kind of cool for my little home town. Mundane and pointless, but I wanted to share.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/columbia-missouri-orders-first-electric-buses-300128599.html
It’s the cost of the extension cord that does it. 
Dayton, OH has used electric trolley buses since 1933.
Trolley electric buses are old, but battery electric is hot new stuff.
I don’t have the numbers, of course, but I would imagine that for cities like mine without the existing infrastructure, it would be time- and cost-prohibitive to stand up a trolley system from scratch. Battery powered buses have the benefit of not needing the overhead wires, so I would think they’re easier to drop into existing bus routes.
My grandfather was a streetcar driver in St. Louis in the 30s and 40s. So I grew up hearing what a mistake it was to dismantle the streetcar system. I wish they hadn’t gone away, but alas.
Anyway the bus I saw today was very quiet. It was weird seeing such a big vehicle making so little noise.
The town I work in bought some hybrid buses a couple years ago and they plan to get some all-electric ones sometime in the next few years. Yay for quiet, non-stinky buses!
London’s been experimenting with seemingly every possible eco-alternative. There were some hydrogen buses, and a lot of new ones are electric/diesel hybrids, which are a little disconcerting sometimes, as they’re pretty well silent when slowing down and setting off.
Historically, electric trams were replaced with trolley-buses in the 40s and 50s, and those were replaced with ordinary buses by the 70s. Some cities in the UK re-introduced modern tram systems as a way of connecting underused suburban rail systems right through city centres, but London, like Paris, has onlyre-introduced them in a few outer suburban areas where there’s street space. Elsewhere on the continent they’ve always kept trams systems and kept them up to date.