Powering the Electric Waikiki Trolley
by Ian Brizdle | Oct. 13, 2024
I grew up in the transportation business. My dad, John Brizdle, and his partner Roger Watson founded E Noa Tours 50 years ago in 1974 as they designed sightseeing tours for visitors in a seven-passenger Volkswagen van. They also brought the rubber tire Waikiki Trolley vehicles to Hawaii in 1986 and I spent time hanging out at the trolley barn down on Waimanu Street. One of my first jobs as a teenager was working at the trolley stop in Waikiki on the corner of Royal Hawaiian and Kalakaua Avenue, assisting with loading tourists onto vehicles.
My dad tells stories about how Hawaiian Electric was involved with an interesting project in the mid 1990’s that connects my childhood transportation world with my current utility communications career. Hawaiian Electric’s support for electric vehicles goes back decades and continues today. EVs go hand in hand with our renewable energy goals by allowing us to integrate more clean energy into the grid.
In 1993, E Noa Tours and Hawaiian Electric participated with the Hawaii Electric Vehicle Demonstration Project (part of DBEDT), which was funded by a federal DARPA grant to stimulate private development of electric vehicles. The Hawaii project was one of six coalitions nationwide and it used the 50% funding offer to help build 26 electric vehicles — including a Waikiki Trolley, a shuttle boat, a city bus, and some electric military transit vehicles. These entities worked on their projects and shared their knowledge with each other to help advance the technology.
One of the goals of the project was to help study new battery technologies and to focus on options that used less lead. Studies at the time suggested that the mining, smelting, and recycling of lead batteries for electric vehicles would pose a health risks. The Hawaiian Electric project liaison at the time — David Waller, Director of Technical Services in the Energy Services Department — was interested in the possibility of using nickel-metal hydride batteries that contained no lead. These types of batteries were found in cellular phones and computers but considered at the time too expensive for use in electric vehicles. He also provided consulting to support the needs of the various project participants.
The all-electric Waikiki Trolley #38 was powered by a large tray of wet nicad batteries imported from France and was among the largest electric people carriers in the state at the time. There were two separate battery trays that were designed to be able to drop out of the vehicle and be swapped out for charging, a technology that came from the Formula-E electric race car circuit. The vehicle had a range of around 60 miles — which was ample for the trolley circuit at the time.
To charge these electric trolley batteries, the trolley barn on Waimanu street needed a power upgrade. Hawaiian Electric assisted with this by installing a new 440v connection to the property that could power the trolley battery pack charger.
Electric Trolley #38 may not have lasted very long because the company ownership changed hands. The incoming owner was not as enthusiastic about experimenting with clean energy vehicles, and it sadly ended up getting retrofitted with a gas motor. However, at one point in the mid 90’s, E Noa Tours with the help of Hawaiian Electric operated one of the largest electric people movers in the state with classic style.
Ian Brizdle is a manager of web and digital communications at Hawaiian Electric.
