Electric Transit, Inc.
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Electric Transit, Inc. (ETI) was a joint venture between the
Škoda Škoda means ''pity'' in the Czech and Slovak languages. It may also refer to: Czech brands and enterprises * Škoda Auto, automobile and previously bicycle manufacturer in Mladá Boleslav ** Škoda Motorsport, the division of Škoda Auto respons ...
group in the Czech Republic and AAI Corporation in the United States which made trolleybuses for the
Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...
and San Francisco trolleybus systems, constructing a total of 330 trolleybuses. ETI was formed in 1994, and ownership was divided as 65% by Å koda and 35% by AAI. The latter was a wholly owned subsidiary of United Industrial Corporation. Up to that time, Å koda had built more than 12,000 trolleybuses since 1935, 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.


Corporate history and production

ETI was formed in 1994 as a joint venture, with ownership divided as 65% by
Škoda Škoda means ''pity'' in the Czech and Slovak languages. It may also refer to: Czech brands and enterprises * Škoda Auto, automobile and previously bicycle manufacturer in Mladá Boleslav ** Škoda Motorsport, the division of Škoda Auto respons ...
and 35% by AAI.Schultz, Russell E. (2003, No. 4). "System Spotlight: Dayton". ''Motor Coach Today'', pp. 3–8. Motor Bus Society.Morgan, Steve (September–October 2018). ''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 341, p. 176. National Trolleybus Association (UK). The latter was a wholly owned subsidiary of United Industrial Corporation and was mainly a defense contractor. ETI originally was based in Dayton, 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. 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, but RailWorks terminated the offer less than three weeks after the announcement. In 2003, ETI engaged in a competitive bidding for a large contract (245 trolleybuses) being offered by
TransLink Translink (or TransLink) may refer to: * TransLink (British Columbia), the public transport operator in Vancouver, Canada * Translink (Northern Ireland) Translink is the brand name of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (NITHCo), a ...
, of Vancouver, B.C., Canada for supply of trolleybuses to the Vancouver trolleybus system, but lost out to New Flyer Industries. The joint venture did not seek any further new business, and in May 2004 it finalized an agreement with
San Francisco Muni The San Francisco Municipal Railway (SF Muni or Muni), is the public transit system for the City and County of San Francisco. It operates a system of bus routes (including trolleybuses), the Muni Metro light rail system, three historic cable ...
to transfer to Muni its remaining contractual obligations.


Contracts with Dayton and San Francisco

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. The order was later reduced to 61 vehicles,''Trolleybus Magazine (TM)'' No. 206 (March–April 1996), pp. 50–51. and ultimately to 57.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 207 (May–June 1996), p. 83. Three
prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...
trolleybuses were delivered in December 1995 and January 1996. These were designated by ETI as model 14TrE, the E standing for "export", and were given fleet numbers 9601–9603 by MVRTA. 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 to and changing from a one-piece windshield to a two-piece one. In July 1997, San Francisco Muni contracted with ETI for the provision of 250 trolleybuses, comprising 220 standard/two-axle () and 30 articulated () vehicles. ETI designated the two types for San Francisco as models 14TrSF and 15TrSF, respectively.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 228 (November–December 1999), p. 144. 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,''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 224 (March–April 1999), p. 47.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 227 (September–October 1999), p. 119. while an articulated prototype (No. 7101) was received in April 2000.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 232 (July–August 2000), p. 93. 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.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 256 (July–August 2004), p. 98


Production

With both the Dayton and San Francisco orders, the chassis/body-frame (or shell) and motors of each vehicle were fabricated at Å koda's plant in
Ostrov nad Ohří Ostrov (also called Ostrov nad Ohří; ; german: Schlackenwerth) is a town in Karlovy Vary District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an ...
, Czech Republic, then shipped to a facility in Hunt Valley, Maryland (near other AAI facilities) for initial fitting-out. 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.


See also

* List of trolleybus manufacturers (current and former trolleybus manufacturers) * United Streetcar – another joint venture between Škoda and a U.S. company


References

*Various issues, ''Trolleybus Magazine'' (). National Trolleybus Association (UK). Bimonthly. *Bushell, Chris (Ed.) (1998). ''Jane's Urban Transport Systems 1998–99'', p. 557. Jane's Information Group (UK).


External links


United Industrial Corp. profile
on Funding Universe, retrieved 2009-06-20.
"Skoda manufactures trolley busses (sic) for San Francisco"
– 2001 audio clips from
Radio Prague Radio Prague International ( cs, Český rozhlas 7 – Radio Praha) is the official international broadcasting station of the Czech Republic. Broadcasting first began on August 31, 1936 near the spa town of Poděbrady. Radio Prague broadcasts in ...
, retrieved 2009-06-20. {{Textron Defunct bus manufacturers of the United States Å koda Trolleybus manufacturers American companies established in 1994 Joint ventures Companies based in Hunt Valley, Maryland Textron 1994 establishments in Ohio 2004 disestablishments in Maryland Electric vehicle manufacturers of the United States