You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
alternatehistory.com
We’ve occasionally discussed the early days of automobiles, when steam, gasoline, and electric vehicles competed until gas clearly one out. I think this is pretty much inevitable, due to the energy densities - electric vehicles are still a marginal industry, even with a century plus of battery development. However, there were plenty of streetcars at the time that relied on overhead lines, and even today, there are plenty of trolleybuses, which are just electric buses with overhead lines. So those things were everywhere in major cities.
What if the electric vehicles in use were adapted to use this handy source of power? Personal cars and trucks are not a good fit, since the entire appeal of them is that they can go anywhere and everywhere there is a road. But delivery trucks? Garbage trucks? Pretty much anything with a set route, where they can rely on having power provided on most of the route (with a battery for backup), just like a trolleybus. That seems viable. And, of course, the overhead lines can be expanded in urban areas relatively easily.