Trackless trolleys are coming back soon, MBTA says

The MBTA says commuters can expect trackless trolley service, sidelined by sewer work, to resume in a few days. (JOSH REYNOLDS for the Boston Globe/file 2004)

Commuters who depend on the MBTA's so-called trackless trolleys may have noticed they have been riding a lot on regular old buses the past two weeks, unconnected to the overhead electrical grid.

The MBTA promises the trackless trolleys are coming back soon, probably in the next few days.

MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said the T has been using low-emission diesel buses on Routes 71 and 73 - which serve Watertown and Cambridge - while the city of Cambridge completes some sewer work along the route.

The work is being done outside of rush hour so that the T can still run mostly trackless trolley buses during the busiest runs, he said.

The third trackless trolley route, 72, has not been affected.