The Seattle Department of Transportation is looking for input from city residents on electric trolley buses in order to make a recommendation to King County Metro on whether to replace electric buses, such as the 44 in Ballard, with diesel hybrid buses.

Metro had been investing in adding more service hours to electric trolley buses, which run on overhead wires, until a September audit of the department recommended replacing them with diesel hybrids as a cost saving measure.

According to the audit, it would save Metro $8 million per year to replace the trolleys with diesel hybrid buses. The electric trolley fleet will need to be replaced by 2014, according to Metro.

At the Dec. 9 Ballard District Council meeting, Seattle Department of Transportation representative Jonathan Dong said electric trolleys have benefits over diesel hybrids that cannot be measured in dollars.

The electric trolley fleet supports the city's climate action goals and saves hundreds of thousands of gallons of fuel per year, Dong said.

He said the trolleys are the quietest buses in the system and have good hill climbing and accelerating capabilities.

According to Seattle Department of Transportation materials, the power for the city's 159 electric buses comes from 100 percent carbon neutral Seattle City Light.

Dong said there may also be financial benefits to keeping the trolleys despite the audit's findings.

Maintenance on electric trolleys costs less per year than on diesel hybrid buses, though both have the same life span, he said.

According to Department of Transportation materials, King County's audit was flawed in its assessment of the cost of electric trolleys.

At the Dec. 9 district council meeting, Dong passed out a survey for residents asking their opinions on electric trolleys.

The survey covered what Metro riders like or dislike about electric trolleys, whether they support the replacement of electric trolleys with diesel hybrid buses if it saved money, and would riders support investing funds to convert more routes to electric.

The Department of Transportation plans to submit the results of its survey to King County Metro.

The city is in favor of continuing and potentially expanding the electric trolley network, said Bill Bryant, Department of Transportation spokesperson.

Electric transit is an important element of the city's Climate Action Now initiative to fight global warming, he said.

For more information, contact Jonathan Dong at jonathan.dong@seattle.gov.