As of 2012 there were around 300 cities or metropolitan areas where trolleybuses were operated,[1] and more than 500 additional trolleybus systems have existed in the past.[2] For complete lists of trolleybus systems by location, with dates of opening and (where applicable) closure, see List of trolleybus systems and the related lists indexed there.
The following are summary notes about current and past trolleybus operation, by country, for every country in which trolleybuses have operated (aside from temporary, experimental operations).
A new trolleybus system in Marrakesh, Morocco, opened in September 2017.[3] It is the first trolleybus system to operate in any African country since 1986. In the past, trolleybuses provided service in several South African cities, as well as two cities in Algeria, three in Morocco (of which Marrakesh was not one), one in Tunisia and one in Egypt.[4]:81–82
South Africa
Until 2017, the last city on the continent to be served by trolleybuses had been Johannesburg, whose trolleybus system closed in 1986.
Asia and Oceania
In addition to the countries listed below, the following countries in Asia or Oceania once possessed trolleybus systems, but in just a single city or metropolitan area each, and all of these had ceased operation by 1999: Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam.[4]:15
Trolleybuses have provided regular public transport service in 27 different cities in China at one time or another.[4] Currently, 11 urban systems are in operation, and they include Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Qingdao and Jinan, among other locations. Beijing's trolleybus system, the most extensive in China and one of the largest in the world, has 31 routes and served by a fleet of over 1,250 dual-mode single and articulated trolleybuses.[6] Asia's first eBRT trolleybus system is in Beijing.[7]Shanghai's system is the world's oldest continuously operating trolleybus system, having been in operation since November 1914.[4] China also has a few very small trolleybus systems located away from urban areas, at coal mines, with trolleybuses used for transporting of workers between the mines and the workers' housing areas. One such line is at the Wuyang Coal Mine, located near Changzhi, in Shanxi province, which opened in 1985 and, as of 2010, had a fleet of 10 articulated trolleybuses.[8]
The only trolleybus system to have existed in Iran is located in the capital, Tehran, and opened in 1992.[10] For about 20 years it featured a fleet of 65 articulated vehicles serving routes running mostly in reserved lanes.[4] In 2005, the size of the system was relatively unchanged. Five routes were in operation, of which two were limited-stop services, all starting at Meydan-e-Emam-Hoseyn (Imam Hossein Square),[11] near Imam Hossein station of Tehran Metro Line 2. Two routes ran east from the square and three ran south. The former closed sometime between 2005 and 2010, while the latter remained in operation. A newly built extension to Tehran Railway Station (at Rahahan Square) was opened in 2010, but subsequent pedestrianisation at Meydan-e-Emam-Hoseyn led to the curtailment of all three routes to a point about 1km south of that busy hub, and all trolleybus service was suspended indefinitely around 2013.[10] However, the system reopened in March 2016, initially limited to a 2-km route between Bozorgrah-e-Be'sat and Meydan-e-Khorasan[12] but extended by 2018 from the latter to Meydan-e-Shohada, making the route length around 4.3km (2.7mi).[13]
Japan
Trolleybuses are in operation on one unusual mountain line, the Tateyama Tunnel Trolleybus line, and also were in use on a nearby and similar line, the Kanden Tunnel Trolleybus, until 2018. Both lines are mostly or entirely in tunnel and serve mainly tourists and hikers in a scenic area. The Kanden Tunnel line was converted from trolleybuses to battery buses between its 2018 and 2019 seasons, but otherwise the service still operates. The Tateyama Tunnel line is now Japan's only surviving trolleybus line, but conventional trolleybus systems operated in seven Japanese cities in the past. Trolleybuses were part of the regular urban transport service in the cities of Kawasaki, Kyoto, Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo and Yokohama, mainly during the 1950s and 1960s, but lasting from 1932 to 1969 in Kyoto.[4]:84 The last urban system to close was that of Yokohama, in 1972. In Japan, this mode of transport is regarded as a railway, so the requirements of the Act on Rail Tracks/Railway Business Act are applied. The drivers are required to get a licence of railroad engineer as well as a driver's license.
Kyrgyzstan
Trolleybus systems operate in the capital city, Bishkek (since 1951), as well as in Osh (since 1977) and Naryn (since 1994), as of 1999.[4]:74 All three were still in operation in 2013.[14] Bishkek uses trolleybuses alongside buses and marshrutkas. The Bishkek system was introduced to Kyrgyzstan by the Soviet Union during the city's industrialization period. The city still uses some trolleybuses built during the last years of the Soviet era, but has started to update the fleet with newer models.[citation needed]
Mongolia
The capital city, Ulaanbaatar, has several[citation needed] trolleybus-operating private companies. The trolleybus system was introduced to Mongolia by the Soviet Union during the industrialization period of the city.
Chinese-built trolleybuses operated on a route from Kathmandu to Bhaktapur between 1975 and 2001. A limited trolleybus service was restarted in 2003, and there were plans to expand it,[15] but they did not come to fruition. Trolleybus operation was suspended again in November 2008, and in 2009 that cessation was made permanent.[16]
New Zealand
A Designline trolleybus operating in Wellington in 2017
By 1982, only the Wellington system remained, and it was the last public trolleybus system in all of Australasia.[4]:82 Its final operator, GO Wellington, operated 61 Designline trolleybuses on nine suburban routes south, east and west of the city centre, until the system's closure in October 2017. The closure of the Wellington network came under heavy criticism from Wellington residents, local politicians, and international transport experts, as it gained the unwanted notoriety of being the only zero-emissions public transport system shut down after its home country signed the Paris climate accord.[citation needed]
In addition to systems providing public transport, a small privately owned museum-type trolleybus operation existed in Foxton, providing excursion-type rides on limited dates using preserved trolleybuses from Auckland, Dunedin and Wellington.[17][18] Opened in December 1988, it was the world's first museum trolleybus line to use public streets.[4]:56[17] An extension built in 1993 came into regular use in 1995,[18] making the line almost 1km long in each direction. Following the death of its founder in 2008 and his son in 2012, the condition of the wiring and vehicles began to deteriorate. Operation ended in 2016 and the remaining overhead wires were removed in 2023.[18]
Preserved trolleybuses still operate at Ferrymead Heritage Park in Christchurch. The Ferrymead collection has trolleybuses from every New Zealand city that operated trolleybuses.
A type Chollima 091 trolleybus in Pyongyang in 2014
Trolleybuses have operated in Pyongyang since 1962, with a large fleet serving several routes. Due to the closed nature of North Korea, the existence of trolleybus networks in other North Korean cities was generally unknown outside the country for many years, but it is now known that around 12 to 15 other cities also possess trolleybus systems, among them Chongjin and Nampho.[19] A few other places have private, very small (in some cases only one or two vehicles) systems for transporting workers from a housing area to a nearby coal mine or other industrial site—or at least did at some time within recent years.[19] Trolleybuses include both imported and locally made vehicles. Imported buses are from Europe and copied versions from China. There are a few local manufacturers of trolleybuses. More recently, while the systems in larger cities are refreshed, some smaller networks, such as Tanchon (2011), Hochon County (2020), Onsong County (before 2004), Kapsan County (unknown), Sinpyong County (2015), Sudong (unknown) and Yonsan County (unknown) have had their trolleybuses removed, though at least in Onsong, the wires have been preserved in relatively good condition.[20]
Saudi Arabia
The first and only trolleybus system to exist in Saudi Arabia opened in April 2013 in Riyadh, serving the then-new main campus of the King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. The service is provided with a fleet of 12 articulated trolleybuses built in Germany by Viseon Bus.[21]:110
Tajikistan
Two trolleybus networks have operated in this country, both having been built during the Soviet period, the Dushanbe system in 1955 and the Khujand (Khodzhent) one in 1970.[4]:77 The Dushanbe system is still in operation as of 2015, whilst the Khujand system was closed in September 2010 (discontinuation officially announced in April 2013).
Turkey
Trolleybuses operate in Malatya (a new system opened in 2015) and Sanliurfa (opened in 2023), and in the past, the Asian part of Turkey included trolleybus systems in Ankara and Izmir. See Turkey listing in Eurasia section, below, for details.
Turkmenistan
The capital city of Ashgabat is the only city where trolleybuses have operated. The system opened in 1964[4]:77 and closed at the end of 2011.[22]
Uzbekistan
Nine cities in this former Soviet republic have had trolleybus systems. All nine were still in operation in 1999,[4]:74 but by 2010 all except the Urgench system, which is an interurban line between Urgench and Khiva, had closed.[23]
Eurasia
This section is for countries located partly in Asia and partly in Europe. See the "Asia" and "Europe" sections for countries not included here.
Six trolleybus routes run in Yerevan, Armenia. The trolleybus system has been in operation since 1949.[4]:74
Azerbaijan
Trolleybus systems have existed in five cities: Baku, Ganja, Mingachevir, Nakhchivan and Sumqayit (Sumgait).[4]:74 Of these, the Baku system was the earliest, opened in 1941, and the largest, with 360 vehicles at its maximum and 30 routes.[4]:74 All five systems survived into the 2000s, but they all closed during that decade, the last to close being the Baku and Mingachevir systems, in 2006.[23]
Georgia
Trolleybuses remain in operation only in Sukhumi, but trolleybuses once operated in 11 other Georgian cities (see List of trolleybus systems). All 12 systems were opened during the Soviet era, when Georgia was part of the Soviet Union. The Tbilisi system opened in 1937, while the opening dates for the others ranged from 1967 to 1986.[4]:74 The Gori system, which ceased operation in March 2010,[24] was the most recent closure.
Trolleybuses have operated in all 15 of the now-independent republics that once made up the Soviet Union, with by far the largest number of systems being in Russia and Ukraine.[4] For information on specific countries, see their separate entries in this article.
Turkey
The trolleybus system of Malatya opened in 2015 and uses vehicles that were mostly Turkish-built.
Trolleybuses have operated in both the Asian and European parts of Turkey, in five cities: Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir, Malatya, and Sanliurfa. The last two of these are new systems opened in 2015 and 2023, respectively, while the other three systems had all closed by the early 1990s. Turkey's first trolleybus line began operating in 1947 in the capital, Ankara. On 1 June 1947, 10 Brill trolleybuses, joined in 1948 by 10 FBW vehicles, started running between the Ulus and Bakanliklar districts.[citation needed] In 1952, 13 more trolleybuses were bought from MAN. The system closed in 1986.[4] In the financial and cultural capital, Istanbul, the first trolleybuses were introduced in the early 1960s. The first line was the Topkapi-Eminönü line and was constructed by the Italian Ansaldo San Giorgia company. The total length of trolleybus line was 45km, and there were 100 buses in operation at the system's peak. However, due to frequent power losses it was decided to close the system, and the last trolleybus ran in 1984.[25][26] The Izmir system closed in 1992, leaving the country with no trolleybus systems for the next two decades.
The new system in Malatya opened in March 2015[27] and serves a single route that is around 21.5km (13.4mi) in length and connects Maşti Otogar (the city's bus station) with İnönü University (İnönü Üniversitesi), using bi-articulated trolleybuses.[28] Another new system opened in April 2023 in Sanliurfa, using the first six of 10 articulated trolleybuses on order from manufacturer Bozankaya, on a 7km (4.3mi) route.[29]
Europe
Austria
The largest trolleybus system in Austria is in Salzburg, with nine routes and 80 trolleybuses, operating from 06:00 to midnight. The system was introduced in 1940 and has been expanded during recent years. Linz has four routes and 19 vehicles; after years of uncertainty the continued existence of the system is guaranteed by the operator. The trolleybuses in Innsbruck went out of service in 2007 because of an expected expansion of the light rail system. A trolleybus system with two routes existed in Kapfenberg until 2002. The towns of Klagenfurt and Graz closed their trolleybus systems in the 1960s.
No trolleybus systems remain in operation in Belgium, but in the past, trolleybuses provided a portion of the local transport service in Antwerp, Brussels, Liège and Ghent.[4] The last system, that of Ghent, which ceased operation in June 2009,[30] had opened much later than all of the other Belgian trolleybus systems, in 1989. Government funds to build the Ghent system were provided, in part, for the purpose of improving the prospects for the export of Belgian-built trolleybuses,[4] and the Ghent system's fleet was made up entirely of trolleybuses built by Van Hool, a Belgian company. The Brussels system comprised only a single route (the 54), in contrast to that city's large tram system. Liège had two independent trolleybus systems. One of them, a small system connecting Liège to the suburb of Seraing, operated the world's only double-ended (bi-directional) trolleybuses; the vehicles were eventually rebuilt to conventional (single-ended) configuration.[4] One of those unique vehicles, restored to double-ended configuration, is preserved at the Musée des Transports en commun du Pays de Liège.[31] Trolleybuses from the other Liège system and from Brussels and Ghent are preserved at various museums, including 1932-built Liège 425 at the Sandtoft museum, in England.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Trolleybuses are in use only in the capital city, Sarajevo. Operation and maintenance is done by GRAS (City transportation). There are seven routes.[citation needed] Some past routes were destroyed in the Bosnian War.
Bulgaria
Trolleybus networks operate in Sofia (since 1941), Pleven (1985), Varna (1986), Sliven (1986), Stara Zagora (1987), Ruse (1988), Vratsa (1988), Burgas (1989), Haskovo (1990) and Pazardzhik (1993). The most developed system in terms of route density is in Pleven with 14 trolleybus routes totaling 75 kilometres (47mi) and serving entirely Pleven's inner city public transport. The largest system is in Sofia: 105 kilometres (65mi). In the late 1980s the towns of Dimitrovgrad and Gorna Oryahovitsa started to build networks, but due to financial problems the projects were suspended. A few other cities like Shumen, Blagoevgrad, Vidin and Yambol have partially completed their systems however they were never operational. Kazanlak's system, which opened in 1986 was the first to close in 1999. Trolleybuses in Veliko Tarnovo operated from 1991 until 2009 when due to road construction works part of the overhead wires were temporarily removed, but subsequently never restored causing the system to shut down. In Plovdiv the trolleybus system, which opened in 1956 was shut down in 2012 after the contract with the private company who was in charge to operate the trolleybus network was cancelled due to inability to provide adequate coverage for all lines. The trolleybus system of Gabrovo, inaugurated in 1987, was shut down in 2013 due to road construction works and did not reopen. The trolleybus system of Dobrich, which had been operational since 1987, was closed in 2014 for financial reasons. In Pernik the trolleybus system operated from 1987 until 2015 when it was closed down after the municipal transport operator went bankrupt.
Croatia
No trolleybuses have operated in Croatia since 1972, but two cities once were served by the mode: Rijeka and Split.[4]:63
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic has 14 trolleybus systems, in towns both large and small, and in the past trolleybuses also operated in three other cities. See List of trolleybus systems for details.
There also was a line between Ostrov and Jáchymov, taking advantage of steep gradients between these towns, used only for testing trolleybuses made at the Škoda factory in Ostrov. The line was dismantled in 2006, following the cessation of production in Škoda Ostrov in 2004. Škoda Ostrov was then moved to Plzeň building new spare parts for already operational trolleybuses. But this did not last long and Škoda Ostrov definitely closed in 2008. New Škoda brand trolleybuses are being built in Plzeň from 2004 under the Škoda Electric factory.
Denmark
Trolleybuses were introduced in Gentofte (a suburb of Copenhagen) with one line in 1927 – operated by the regional power company, NESA. The network was gradually expanded to connect to the suburbs of Lyngby and Søborg also. From 1938 to 1963 trolleybuses were operating on the route on Lyngbyvej to Nørreport Station (in downtown Copenhagen). From 1953 onward NESA operated 4 trolleybus lines. In 1963 the two lines to Nørreport Station were converted to operate with diesel buses. NESA replaced the last trolleybus with diesel buses in 1971.
The city of Odense also got a trolleybus line in 1939. In 1959 this line was converted to operate with diesel buses.
Estonia
Solaris T18AC in Tallinn
Trolleybuses are in use in Tallinn. The first trolleybus route opened on 6 July 1965. At its peak, the system had nine routes,[2] currently the city of Tallinn is gradually substituting trolleybuses with hybrid drive buses. By 3 May 2017 only four lines remain in service, the overhead wires have been dismantled on lines that have been closed.[32] Some old Skoda 14Tr and 15Tr trolleybuses have been replaced with newer low-floor Solaris/Ganz T12 and T18 articulated models.
Finland
Tampere and Helsinki have had trolleybus systems in the past. In Tampere, trolleybus operations began in 1948 and ended in 1976. At the system's maximum extent seven trolleybus lines operated. Two trolleybuses have been preserved, in the collection of Tampereen kaupungin liikennelaitos.[33] In Helsinki a single trolleybus line was operated, 1949–1974.[34] An attempt to restore trolleybus operation in Helsinki was made in the late 1970s and resulted in the acquisition of a prototype trolleybus which was used between 1979 and 1985.[35] Three Helsinki trolleybuses have been preserved. Of these, number 605 is on display at the Helsinki Tram Museum.[36][37][38] Helsinki is considering restoring trolleybus services.[39]
Trolleybuses are used in Limoges, Lyon, Nancy and Saint-Étienne, which have expanded their use. Preserved trolleybuses are at the Musée des Transports (AMTUIR) in Colombes.
Trolleybuses operate in Eberswalde (near Berlin), Esslingen (near Stuttgart) and Solingen (near Düsseldorf). There were over 60 trolleybus systems in the late 1950s, many having replaced under-used tram services.[40]
Greece
A trolleybus in Athens in 2009
Twenty trolleybus lines[41] serve Athens, especially the municipalities of Athens, Piraeus, Kallithea, Chalandri and also other municipalities. The trolleybus network, is one of the largest in Europe,[42] with 354 trolleybuses.[43] It was formerly operated by IEM, later by ILPAP and now OSY S.A., subsidiary of OASA S.A. (Athens Urban Transport Organisation). The entire fleet was replaced with new Neoplan and Van Hoollow-floor trolleybuses from 1999 to 2004.
Trolleybuses are used in Chișinău (1949), currently 340 trolleybuses serving 30 routes, Bălți (1972), Tighina (1993) and Tiraspol (1967). Trolleybuses, along with rutierele, are the most used mode of public transport in Chișinău.[citation needed]
Netherlands
Trolleybuses have been in use in Arnhem since 1949. Past trolleybus systems were located in Groningen (1927–65) and Nijmegen (1952–69).
Norway
In Bergen, Norway, trolleybuses have been in use since 1950.
In 1909, Drammen had the first trolleybus system in Scandinavia, running until 1967, and trolleybuses also served Oslo and Stavanger from the 1940s until the 1960s.
The first trolleybus network in Poland opened in Poznań in 1930. There were 7 municipals systems operational after World War Two, partially inherited after the Germans; the trolleybus transportation reached its climax in the early 1960s, with some 130 vehicles in Warsaw alone. Most systems were closed in the 1970s. Currently there are 3 networks in service, in Gdynia, Lublin and Tychy. The total number of vehicles operational is about 260.
Portugal
Trolleybuses are currently operated only in Coimbra, where the system is managed by a municipal authority, SMTUC. Two other cities used trolleybuses in the past: Braga was served by trolleybuses from 1963 to 1979. In Porto, Sociedade de Transportes Colectivos do Porto operated several trolleybus routes from 1959 to 1997 and has preserved some of its historic vehicles. Unusually, the Porto fleet included double-deck trolleybuses.
In addition to Cernăuți (1939) and Timișoara (1942), where the first trolleybus systems in Romania opened, and Bucharest (1949), where around 300 vehicles served 19 routes as of early 2009,[42] the larger trolleybus systems opened in 1959 under Soviet influence: Brașov (shrunk considerably in the 2000s), Cluj (1959), Constanta (1959; shrunk considerably in the 2000s; closed 2010). Timișoara's system (1942) was built with Italian equipment and vehicles. Most smaller systems were opened through a government program in the 1980s and 1990s, although only about half survive: Sibiu (1983; closed 2009),[50]Iași (1985; closed 2006), Suceava (1987; closed 2006), Brăila (1989; closed 1999), Galați (1989), Mediaș (1989), Satu Mare (1994; closed 2005), Vaslui (1994; suspended in 2009 for modernization; reopened in August 2023), Piatra Neamț (1995; closed 2019), Târgu Jiu (1995), Târgoviște (1995; closed 2005), Baia Mare (1996), Slatina (1996; closed 2006), Ploiești (1997).
There are eight trolleybus routes in Belgrade. Three of them are variations of the original line established shortly after World War II with Russian-made vehicles, with the same terminus in the heart of old downtown next to the Kalemegdan fortress. Another is a completely independent line built perpendicular to the other three in the early 1980s. The fleet had 154 operable trolleybuses as of December 2005.[51] The Belgrade University Faculty of Traffic proposed introduction of trolleybusses to the western suburbs, many of which are hilly. The extensions are to open as a part of Phase 3 of public transport reorganization, by 2020.
Slovakia
The first trolleybus system connected Poprad with Starý Smokovec from 1904 to 1906. The second trolleybus system was built in 1909 in Bratislava, but served only until 1915.[52] The route led to the hilly recreational area of Železná studienka and the trolleybuses' motors were fed by a four-wheel bogie running on top of the wires and connected to the vehicle by a cable. Trolleybuses in Bratislava were reintroduced in 1941, with standard trolley poles.[52] In 1962 trolleybuses were introduced in Prešov. Banská Bystrica introduced trolleybuses in 1989, Košice in 1993 and Žilina in 1994. All trolleybuses were made by Škoda. As of 2021, trolleybuses operate in Banská Bystrica, Bratislava, Prešov and Žilina. Since 2015, trolleybuses no longer operate in Košice.
Slovenia
The first trolleybus line in the Balkans opened to the public on 24 October 1909 in the coastal town of Piran, then part of Austria-Hungary. It ran from the Tartini Square, the central square of the town, along the coast and the shipyard to Portorož and Lucija. The town authorities bought five trolleybuses manufactured by the Austrian company Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft.[53][54] In August 1912, it was replaced by the town's tram system on the same route. From 1951 until 1971, trolleybuses served Ljubljana, the capital of the then Socialist Republic of Slovenia, until 1958 alongside the tram. There were five trolleybus lines in Ljubljana.
Trolleybuses are currently in use only in Castellón de la Plana, where a new system opened on 25 June 2008;[55] trolleybuses had previously served the town from 1963 to 1969.[56] The Irisbus Civis vehicles are optically guided and are capable of switching to diesel power for turning in front of the Parque Ribalto.[55][57]
Earlier, at least 12 trolleybus systems existed in Spain;[4] see list. While most were urban systems, there were also some interurban lines, including a 33-km route from A Coruña to Carballo and a 12-km route from Tarragona to Reus.[4] Until the opening of the second Castellón system, in 2008, the last Spanish system to operate had been the one in Pontevedra, which closed in 1989.[4] In the 1960s and 1970s, more than 100 secondhand London double-deck trolleybuses operated on various Spanish systems.[58]
Sweden
In Landskrona, a single trolleybus route connects the railway station with the city centre and the wharf area. The system opened in 2003 and initially employed just three trolleybuses,[59] making it one of the world's smallest systems; by September 2013, the fleet had been expanded to five trolleybuses.[60] Forty years earlier, trolleybus systems existed in Gothenburg and Stockholm, the latter a large system with 12 routes.[4]
The last trolleybus ran in Lugano in June 2001,[61] and in Basel, where they have been replaced by gas-powered buses, on 30 June 2008.[62] These are the only urban networks that have been closed in Switzerland. Operation of the La Chaux-de-Fonds system has been suspended since 2014, but reopening by 2023 (with new vehicles) is planned.[63]
In Lausanne, the Association RétroBus has preserved several vintage trolleybuses, the oldest example being a 1932 FBW,[64] and operates them periodically on public excursions, especially on summer weekends.
Trolleybus systems run in more than 40 cities,[1] including the interurban Crimean network connecting Simferopol with Alushta and Yalta on the coast. The Crimean trolleybus network includes the longest trolleybus route in the world,[4] the 86-km (54mi.) route from Yalta to Simferopol.[65]
A Derby Corporation trolleybus in 1967. This vehicle is preserved in running order at the Black Country Living Museum.
No trolleybus systems are in operation. A new Leeds trolleybus system was given preliminary government approval and funding in March 2010,[66] but cancelled in 2016.[67]
In the past, more than 50 systems existed and a large number of trolleybuses have been preserved at British museums. The last trolleybuses in Britain ran in Bradford in 1972. The world's largest collection of preserved trolleybuses is at The Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft in England. Examples are also preserved at the East Anglia Transport Museum and the Black Country Living Museum in England.
Edmonton was the most recent city to abandon its trolleybus network, ending service in May 2009, despite opposition from local citizens.[68] Vancouver is currently the only Canadian city operating trolleybuses, with several other cities considering new trolleybus networks, including Laval and Montréal.
One of Vancouver's New Flyer E60LFR articulated trolleybuses, on route 20.
TransLink operates a fleet of 262 vehicles in Vancouver,[69] locally known as "trolleys".[70] The city's aging trolley fleet was replaced in 2006–2009 with new low-floor models built in Canada by New Flyer, including 74 articulated units.[69] The trolleys are valued in the Vancouver transit network for their "greener" energy usage and emissions (relying on hydro-electric power), quieter operation over diesels and the high-torque electric motors are well-suited to hilly areas of the city.
In Laval, Quebec (within the Greater Montreal area), the transit system operator, Société de transport de Laval (STL), launched a study in spring 2009 into the possible construction of a new, four-route trolleybus system.[71] Funded jointly by STL and Hydro-Québec,[72] the study was completed in 2010. In discussing the Laval study, some provincial officials indicated they would like to see transport agencies in other major Québec cities also consider installing trolleybus networks.[71] At the end of the study, the Laval transit authority decided to experiment with rechargeable battery-powered buses first, before making a decision on whether to proceed with trolleybuses.[73][74] Among the points noted in the study's findings were that installing a trolleybus system would require a significant initial capital investment in infrastructure, but that trolleybuses are a technology that is known to be able to operate reliably in harsh winter temperatures, whereas it is uncertain whether other types of electric buses would be able to do so, and testing of this is now planned.[73]
A new trolleybus system is also proposed for the city of Montréal proper, by STM.[75] Montreal was previously served by trolleybuses from 1937 until 1966.[4]
Several other Canadian cities have operated trolleybus systems in the past. In Hamilton, where they were referred to as "trolley coaches", they were used from 1951 until the end of 1992. Toronto initially had an experimental fleet of four trolleybuses from 1922 through 1927, but later maintained a fleet of about 150 vehicles from 1947 through 1992. Another 40 trolleybuses leased from Edmonton continued operation in Toronto until the lease expired, in July 1993, and the buses were returned to Edmonton a few months later. Most of Canada's other trolleybus systems were abandoned during the 1960s and 1970s; the last two to disappear at that time (Saskatoon and Calgary) closed down in 1974 and 1975, respectively.[4]
The Transit Museum Society, in Vancouver, has preserved at least five trolleybuses retired from service on that city's trolleybus system, and some are maintained in running condition for occasional operation on the system, in cooperation with the transit agency TransLink.
Mexico
Servicio de Transportes Eléctricos (STE) of Mexico City is one of the largest systems in North America. In the 1960s and 1970s STE acquired trolleybuses withdrawn from service in many Canadian and U.S. cities, including Montreal, Winnipeg, Cleveland, Dallas, Indianapolis, Johnstown, Little Rock, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New Orleans, Shreveport and San Francisco, and placed them in service in Mexico City,[76][77] following these later with a similar acquisition of 37 Flyers from Edmonton in 1987. Since 1981 more than 700 trolleybuses have been purchased from Mexicana de Autobuses S.A. (MASA),[4] fitted with electrical equipment by various suppliers (including Hitachi, Toshiba, Kiepe and Mitsubishi) for batches of vehicles ordered at different times.[78] The size of the fleet in 2008 was around 400.[79] More recently, the system's first low-floor trolleybuses entered service.[80] Sixty-three new two-axle trolleybuses built in China by Yutong entered service in late 2019 and early 2020,[80][81] and in 2020 STE placed orders for an additional 80 two-axle and 50 articulated Yutong trolleybuses.[82]
Guadalajara opened a trolleybus system in 1976 using ex-Chicago Marmon-Herrington trolleybuses dating from 1951–52. New MASA trolleybuses were added to the fleet over the period 1982–85, and the last Marmons were withdrawn in January 1993.[83] In 2015, a series of 25 low-floor trolleybuses built by DINA (of Mexico) and Škoda (of the Czech Republic) replaced the previous fleet.[84]
Since the opening of the first system – a relatively short-lived one opened in 1910 in Los Angeles – approximately 65 cities in the United States have been served by trolleybuses, in some instances by two or more independent systems operated by different private companies.[4]
SEPTA trackless trolley on Frankford Avenue in Philadelphia in 2010
Trolleybus systems are currently in operation in four U.S. metropolitan areas:
An ex-Chicago trolleybus in operation at the Illinois Railway Museum
The Illinois Railway Museum in Union maintains an historical collection of 20 trolleybuses from Chicago, Dayton, Cleveland, Des Moines, Vancouver, Toronto, Seattle, San Francisco, Edmonton and Milwaukee. Several of the preserved coaches are operable and periodically provide rides for visitors over the museum's 0.6-mile (1km) demonstration line, such service usually being scheduled on the first Saturday of June, July, September and October each year.
There are 18 historic trolleybuses in the collection of the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine: 15 from U.S. systems,[85] two from Canada and one from Switzerland (plus one matching passenger trailer from Switzerland).[86] Some are only on display or stored, but seven are in operating condition, and the museum has an approximately quarter-mile trolleybus line, on which operation takes place on about two or three weekends each year.
In Seattle, transit authority King County Metro has preserved several historic trolleybuses and diesel buses that used to serve the city, and adds more to its collection as additional types are withdrawn from use on the Metro transit system. Volunteers from a group of current and retired employees of the agency, the Metro Employees Historic Vehicle Association (MEHVA), formed in 1981, restore and maintain the vehicles and operate them on public excursions a few times each year.[87] As of 2009, the historic-vehicle fleet includes six trolleybuses, of which one is also a dual-mode bus.[88]
San Francisco Muni has a collection of six historic trolleybuses, including two Flyer E800s of mid-1970s vintage in operating condition, one 1950 Marmon-Herrington in operating condition, and three older vehicles which are not in running condition.
A number of other museums in the United States have trolleybuses on static display only.
The capital of Mendoza province, Argentina, had the first trolleybus operation in Latin America and one of the first in the world. South American Railless Traction Co., organized in London in 1912, planned to cover the continent with trolleybus lines and built an experimental route in Mendoza in 1913. (It was the only line that it built).[89] In 1948 the Buenos Aires City transport authority purchased 120 trolleybuses from Westram, later in 1952 the Argentine government imported 700 new trolleybuses from Germany (350 Mercedes-Benz, 175 Henschel and 175 from Maschinenfabrik Augsburg Nürnberg). Most of the vehicles ran in the capital, Buenos Aires, but about 110 were sent to provincial cities: Bahía Blanca, La Plata, Tucumán, Mar del Plata and Rosario. Later Rosario and Mendoza cities bought new ones from FIAT and Toshiba. Trolleybuses are currently in use in Mendoza, Rosario and Córdoba. Mendoza now uses ex-Vancouver Flyers plus 12 Materfer low-floor units, Rosario has 20 Volvo units made in Brazil and 12 low-floor Trolza trolleybuses, and Córdoba uses seven Trolzas, some 30 ZIU and a single Belkommunmash (BKM) demonstrator.
Trolleybuses are currently in use only in São Paulo and Santos. In São Paulo (city), there are two separate trolleybus systems, operated or regulated by two different public agencies: SPTrans, in the central and eastern areas, and EMTU, in the southeastern suburbs and the cities of Santo André, São Bernardo do Campo, Mauá and Diadema. The trolleybus system of SPTrans (formerly CMTC), which opened in 1949, is the oldest surviving trolleybus system in Latin America[4] and also the largest system in South America.[90] In the past, trolleybus systems existed in eleven other Brazilian cities; see list.
Two trolleybuses are preserved and exhibited at the SPTrans (São Paulo Transportation Authority) Museum at Gaetano Ferrola. Another five trolleybuses built by CMTC (SPTrans' predecessor, until 1995) and Villares between 1958 and 1965 are awaiting restoration in the SPTrans garage at Santa Rita. A trolleybus built in the United States by ACF-Brill in 1948 was restored in 1999 and operates during special celebrations, such as the city's 454th anniversary celebration on 25 January 2008.
Chile
Various trolleybuses in Valparaíso, Chile. The two Swiss vehicles at left are types that were retired from service in 2015/16.
Valparaíso, one of the largest cities of Chile, has the only trolleybus service currently, and it is managed by a private company, Trolebuses de Chile S.A. (formerly Empresa de Transportes Colectivos Eléctricos). The single route is numbered 802 in the regional transport scheme and is about 5km in length. For about 25 years the fleet comprised a variety of secondhand Swiss vehicles along with old American vehicles and a few Chinese units, but by 2017 it comprised a single model of Swiss trolleybus–14–18 ex-LucerneNAW vehicles built in 1988–89–and nine American vehicles.[91] The latter, the system's most famous vehicles, are Pullman-Standards built in 1946–52, which are the oldest trolleybuses still in service anywhere in the world.[92] They were declared national monuments in 2003.[93] The company has faced fierce competition from bus operators, and has come close to bankruptcy a few times, but many Valparaíso inhabitants feel an emotional link to the service, and vigorously defend the trolleybuses. During one such crisis in May 2007, even the country's president, Michelle Bachelet, expressed support for keeping the historic system running.[94] In October 2007, the Chilean government's National Monuments Council extended the national monument status to include also the system's operations infrastructure (overhead wires, support poles and substations).[95]
Trolleybuses operated in Santiago from 1947–1978 and 1991–1994.[4][96]
Colombia
Trolleybuses systems were operated in Medellín from 1929 to 1951 and in Bogotá (where the service was managed by the local government) from 1948 until 1991.[4] Russian-built ZIU and Romanian-built DAC trolleybuses comprised the entire fleet in the system's last several years of operation.[97]
A distinctive and heavily used trolleybus system opened in Quito in stages in 1995–96.[98] The single-corridor Quito trolleybus system, named "El Trole", is a high-capacity design, featuring dedicated trolleybus-only lanes over almost its entire length and with boarding taking place exclusively at high-platform stations, through all three vehicle doorways simultaneously, akin to modern-day light-rail transit systems.[99] The initial fleet of 54 articulated trolleybuses was expanded to 113 vehicles in 1999–2000.[99] The headway is as short as 90 seconds in peak periods, and average daily patronage exceeds 250,000 passengers. Extensions to the route were opened in 2000 and 2008, and it is now 18.7 kilometres (11.6mi) in length.[100] Five different overlapping trolleybus services are operated along the corridor. The system inspired the design of a new trolleybus system in Mérida, Venezuela, the first stage of which opened in 2007.
Peru
A small trolleybus system operated in Lima from 1928 to 1931, using just six vehicles on a single 3.3-km route.[4][89] The six trolleybuses were rebuilt as trams in 1931, the only known instance of trolleybuses' being converted into trams.[89]
Trinidad and Tobago
Port of Spain was served by a five-route trolleybus system, which opened in 1941 and closed at the end of 1956.[4]:63
Uruguay
Trolleybuses served the capital, Montevideo, from 1951 until 1992. The fleet originally included 18 British-built BUT vehicles, but Italian-built Alfa Romeo or Fiat trolleybuses were later acquired in much larger numbers and comprised the entire fleet for the system's last several years.[4]
Venezuela
No trolleybus systems exist any more, but trolleybuses have operated in four cities, of which one was a project that only progressed as far as demonstration service before the project was cancelled.
A small trolleybus system (using only 11 vehicles) operated in Caracas from 1937[89] until about 1949, and a short-lived system existed in Valencia from 1941 to about 1947.[101]
Many years later, a trolleybus system opened in Mérida in June 2007,[102][103] but ceased operation in 2016.[104] Like the 1995-opened Quito trolleybus system, the new Mérida system was a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, using dedicated trolleybus-only lanes over the entire length of the route, with signals giving priority over other traffic, and with all boarding and alighting taking place at enclosed "stations". A fleet of 45 articulated trolleybuses built in Spain by Mercedes-Benz and Hispano Carrocera provided the service.[103] Around June 2015, because of a combination of factors, including electricity rationing and thefts of overhead wiring during periods of civil unrest, diesel buses began to be used on the trolleybus line, and by October 2015 they were providing about half of the service.[105] Trolleybus operation became sporadic in 2016. By August, it had ceased entirely, and was not expected to resume.[104]
A similar new trolleybus BRT system, Transbarca, was planned in Barquisimeto, and was intermittently under construction for several years, but the project's trolleybus component was cancelled in 2013, replaced by non-trolleybus BRT.[106] For the planned 22km route, 80 articulated trolleybuses were purchased from Neoplan, in Germany, and construction of the system began in 2006,[107] but financial and political issues subsequently caused several long suspensions of work. By mid-2010, expenditures on the project had far exceeded the predicted amount and yet the first phase was only 23 percent completed.[108] Although a free demonstration service was introduced in November 2012, serving three stops and operating for only two hours per day, using 10–15 vehicles, it ceased operating within a few months. Ultimately, the planned trolleybus system never opened, the project being cancelled in July 2013 by a new Venezuelan Minister of Transport.[106] In addition to reasons of cost, an inadequate supply of electricity with which to power the system was cited in the announcement of the decision.[109]
See also
List of trolleybus systems – for all-time lists, by country, of every trolleybus system ever known to have existed
Related Research Articles
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The Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) is the public transport agency for Hamilton, Ontario. The name is a legacy of the company's early period, when public transit in Hamilton was primarily served by streetcars. Although streetcars are no longer used in the city today, the HSR operates bus and paratransit services, with a ridership of 21 million passengers a year.
The Boston-area trolleybus system formed part of the public transportation network serving Greater Boston in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It opened on April 11, 1936, with a large network operating for the next quarter-century. Measured by fleet size, the Boston-area system was the second-largest trolleybus system in the United States at its peak, with only the Chicago system having more trolleybuses than Boston's 463. After 1963, the only remaining portion was a four-route cluster operating from the Harvard bus tunnel at Harvard station, running through Cambridge, Belmont, and Watertown. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority took over the routes in 1964.
Servicio de Transportes Eléctricos de la Ciudad de México (STE) is a public transport agency responsible for the operation of all trolleybus and light rail services in Mexico City. As its name implies, its routes use only electrically powered vehicles. It was created on 31 December 1946 and is owned by the Mexico City government. STE is overseen by a broader local governmental authority, Secretaria de Movilidad de la Ciudad de México (SEMOVI)(Secretariat of Mobility of Mexico City), formerly (SETRAVI) which also regulates the city's other public transport authorities, including Sistema de Transporte Colectivo, Red de Transporte de Pasajeros del Distrito Federal and Metrobús, as well as other forms of transportation in the district. STE's passenger vehicle fleet consists exclusively of trolleybuses, light rail, and aerial lift vehicles, and in 2007 its network carried 88 million passengers, of which 67 million were on trolleybus services and 21 million on light rail.
The Vancouver trolley bus system forms part of the TransLink public transport network serving Metro Vancouver in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Opened in 1948, the system was originally owned and operated by the British Columbia Electric Railway. By 1954, Vancouver had the largest trolley bus fleet in Canada, with 327 units, and the fleet grew to an all-time peak of 352 in early 1957. There were 19 routes by 1955 and a peak of 20 by the second quarter of 1957. The last route to open in the 1950s was the only express trolley bus service that ever existed in Canada. Several, mostly short, extensions to the system were constructed in the 1980s and later.
The San Francisco trolleybus system forms part of the public transportation network serving San Francisco, in the state of California, United States. Opened on October 6, 1935, it presently comprises 15 lines and is operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway, commonly known as Muni, with around 300 trolleybuses. In San Francisco, these vehicles are also known as "trolley coaches", a term that was the most common name for trolleybuses in the United States in the middle decades of the 20th century. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 42,240,000, or about 142,700 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.
The Salzburg trolleybus system forms part of the public transport network serving Salzburg, capital of the federal state of Salzburg in Austria. Opened on 1 October 1940, it replaced the Salzburg tramway network.
The Lausanne trolleybus system forms part of the public transport network of Lausanne, in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. The system has been in operation since 1932 and is the third-oldest surviving trolleybus system in the world, after those of Shanghai and Philadelphia.
The Seattle trolleybus system forms part of the public transportation network in the city of Seattle, Washington, operated by King County Metro. Originally opened on April 28, 1940, the network consists of 15 routes, with 174 trolleybuses operating on 68 miles (109 km) of two-way parallel overhead lines. As of the second quarter of 2024, the system carries riders on an average of 39,900 trips per weekday, comprising about 18 percent of King County Metro's total daily ridership.
The Dayton trolleybus system forms part of the public transportation network serving Dayton, in the state of Ohio, United States. Opened on April 23, 1933, it presently comprises five lines, and is operated by the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority, with a fleet of 45 trolleybuses. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 2,163,400, or about 6,100 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.
The Santos trolleybus system forms part of the public transport network in Santos, a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Opened on 12 August 1963, it presently comprises only one line, and, along with the two São Paulo metropolitan area trolleybus systems, is one of only three trolleybus systems still operating in Brazil.
The Coimbra trolleybus system formed part of the public transport network in the city of Coimbra, Portugal. Opened in 1947, it supplemented, and then eventually replaced, the Coimbra tramway network. Service was suspended in March 2021 because of road construction, and officials stated that the suspension was temporary, but in late 2022 the mayor indicated that any resumption of trolleybus service would not occur until after completion of construction of a new Bus Rapid Transit line, around late 2024. However, in July 2024, the city council voted not to resume service – to make the suspension a permanent closure – albeit with a proposal floated for a future tourist trolleybus operation along the banks of the Mondego River, without further detail given.
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The Geneva trolleybus system forms part of the public transport network in Geneva, Switzerland. It is the second largest trolleybus system in Switzerland, after the Lausanne system.
The St. Gallen trolleybus system forms part of the public transport network of St. Gallen, the capital city of the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland.
The Zurich trolleybus system is part of the public transport network of Zurich, Switzerland. Opened in 1939, it combines the Zurich S-Bahn, the Zurich tramway network and Zurich's urban motorbus network to form an integrated all-four style scheme.
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