Trolleybus usage by country

The article Trolleybus gives a description of the electric trolley bus (trackless trolley; trolley coach) including technical details.

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). These summary notes were originally in the article Trolleybus but have been subdivided to this topic, trolleybus usage by country, in response to a comment that the original topic had become overly long.

Africa

No trolleybus systems currently exist in any African country, but in the past, trolleybuses provided service in several South African cities, as well as two cities in Algeria, three in Morocco, one in Tunisia and one in Egypt.^[3]:81–82 The last city on the continent to be served by trolleybuses was Johannesburg, whose trolleybus system closed in 1986. See List of trolleybus systems#Africa for specific information.

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.^[3]:15

Afghanistan

The country's only trolleybus system was located in Kabul. It was constructed during the early months of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and opened in 1979. Damage received during the civil war caused operation to be suspended indefinitely in 1993, and the system never reopened.^[4]

Australia

Australia has no remaining trolleybus systems, but such systems existed in Adelaide, Brisbane, Hobart, Launceston, Perth and Sydney.^[3] Trolleybuses are preserved in the Brisbane Tramway Museum, Sydney Tramway Museum, Powerhouse Museum (Sydney), the Australian Electric Transport Museum at Adelaide (South Australia), the Perth Electric Tramway Society Museum and the Bus Preservation Society of Western Australia, and at the Tasmanian Transport Museum in Hobart. Some of these historic trolleybuses are in operating condition, but there are no wired roadways on which to operate them.

China

See also: List of trolleybus systems and Transportation in China

Trolleybuses have provided regular public transport service in 27 different cities in China at one time or another.^[3] Currently, ten systems are in operation, and they include Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Wuhan, Qingdao and Jinan, among other locations. As of the 2010s, most of the trolleybuses are dual-mode, which can run for considerable distances on battery power. Beijing's trolleybus system, the most extensive in China, with some new routes under construction, is served by both single and articulated trolleybuses. Asia's first BRT trolleybus system is in Beijing. Shanghai's system is the world's oldest trolleybus system still in service, having been in operation since November 1914.^[3] New battery-only buses have replaced a few trolleybus routes in Shanghai. These buses charge at terminals and stops and operate from the electric power stored in supercapacitors. 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.^[5]

India

A small trolleybus system operated in Delhi from 1935 until about 1962. The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport of Mumbai operated trolleybuses from 1962 to 1971.^[6]

Iran

The only trolleybus system in Iran opened in 1992 in the capital, Tehran, with a fleet of 65 articulated vehicles serving a single transport corridor, mostly in reserved lanes.^[3] 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),^[7] near Imam Hossein station of Tehran Metro Line 2.

Japan

Trolleybuses are in use on two unusual mountain lines, the Tateyama Tunnel Trolleybus line and the Kanden Tunnel Trolleybus line, both of which are mostly or entirely in tunnel and serve mainly tourists and hikers in a scenic area. These are now the country's only trolleybus lines, but seven Japanese cities had trolleybus systems 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.^[3]: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.^[3]:74 All three were still in operation in 2013.^[8] 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.

Mongolia

The capital city, Ulaanbaatar, has several trolleybus-operating private companies. The trolleybus system was introduced to Mongolia by the Soviet Union during the industrialization period of the city.

Nepal

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,^[9] but they did not come to fruition. Trolleybus operation was suspended again in November 2008, and in 2009 that cessation was made permanent.^[10] See Trolleybuses in Kathmandu.

New Zealand

Wellington has the only public trolleybus system in Australasia. GO Wellington operates 61 Designline trolleybuses on nine suburban routes south, east and west of the city centre.

In Foxton and at Ferrymead Heritage Park in Christchurch preserved trolleybuses operate. The Ferrymead system has trolleybuses from every New Zealand city that operated trolleybuses: Auckland, New Plymouth, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.

North Korea

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.^[11] 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.^[11] 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.

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.^[12]: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.^[3]:77 Both were continuing in operation as of 2010.

Turkey

In the Asian part of Turkey, trolleybuses operated in the past in Ankara and Izmir, and construction of a new trolleybus system in Malatya began in 2013. 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^[3]:77 and closed at the end of 2011.^[13]

Uzbekistan

Nine cities in this former Soviet republic have had trolleybus systems. All nine were still in operation in 1999,^[3]:74 but by 2010 all except the Urgench system, which is an interurban line between Urgench and Khiva, had closed.^[14]

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.

Armenia

Twenty-four trolleybus routes run in Yerevan, Armenia. The trolleybus system has been in operation since 1949.^[3]:74

Azerbaijan

Trolleybus systems have existed in five cities: Baku, Ganja, Mingachevir, Nakhchivan and Sumqayit (Sumgait).^[3]:74 Of these, the Baku system was the earliest, opened in 1941, and the largest, with 360 vehicles at its maximum and 30 routes.^[3]: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.^[14]

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.^[3]:74 The Gori system, which ceased operation in March 2010,^[15] was the most recent closure.

Soviet Union

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.^[3] For information on specific countries, see their separate entries in this article.

Turkey

Trolleybuses have operated in both the Asian and European parts of Turkey, in four cities: Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir and Malatya. The last of these is a new system constructed in 2013–15, 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. In 1952, 13 more trolleybuses were bought from MAN. The system closed in 1986.^[3] 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 45 km, 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.^[16][17] The Izmir system closed in 1992, leaving the country with no trolleybus systems for the next two decades. Construction of the new system in Malatya began in 2013.^[18]

Europe

Austria

The largest trolleybus system in Austria is in Salzburg, with nine routes and 80 trolleybuses, operating from 0600 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.

Belarus

The trolleybus system in Minsk (since 1952) is the second-largest in the world. Trolleybuses also work in Brest, Vitebsk, Gomel, Grodno, Mogilev and Babruysk (since 1978).

Belgium

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.^[3] The last system, that of Ghent, which ceased operation in June 2009,^[19] 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,^[3] 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.^[3] One of those unique vehicles, restored to double-ended configuration, is preserved at the Musée des Transports en commun du Pays de Liège.^[20] 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 (101–107).

Bulgaria

Trolleybus networks operate in Sofia (since 1941), Pleven (1985), Varna (1986), Stara Zagora (1988), Ruse (1988), Sliven (1988), Vratsa (1988), Dobrich (1988), Pernik (1989), Gabrovo (1990), Haskovo (1990), Burgas (1991) and Pazardzhik (1993). The most developed system in terms of density is in Pleven, with 14 trolleybus routes, totalling 75 kilometres (47 mi), and one bus route. The largest system is in Sofia: 105 kilometres (65 mi). 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. Financial problems is the reason for closing Kazanlak's system in 1999. In Veliko Tarnovo due to road construction work part of the overhead wires were removed and never restored causing the system to shut down. In Plovdiv the trolleybus system was shut down in 2012 after the contract with the private company who was in charge to operate the trolleybus network was canceled due to inability to provide adequate coverage for all lines. The trolleybus system of Dobrich is due to close in April 2014

Croatia

No trolleybuses have operated in Croatia since 1972, but two cities once were served by the mode: Rijeka and Split.^[3]:63

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic has 13 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 nad Ohrí 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.

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

Trolleybuses are in use in Tallinn. The first trolleybus route opened on 6 July 1965. At its peak, the system had nine routes,^[2] but one closed on 31 March 2000; the overhead wires remain in place. Old Skoda 14Tr and 15Tr trolleybuses are being 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.^[21] In Helsinki a single trolleybus line was operated, 1949–1974.^[22] 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.^[23] Three Helsinki trolleybuses have been preserved. Of these, number 605 is on display at the Helsinki Tram Museum.^[24][25][26] Helsinki is considering restoring trolleybus services.^[27]

France

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.

Germany

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.^[28]

Greece

22 Trolleybus lines in the Athens metropolitan area serve Athens, Piraeus and other municipalities. The trolleybus network, which is operated by ILPAP, is one of the largest in Europe,^[29] with more than 360 trolleybuses. The entire fleet was replaced with new Neoplan and Van Hool low-floor trolleybuses from 1999 to 2004.

Hungary

Trolleybuses are used in Budapest, Szeged and Debrecen. In Budapest the fleet is operated by Budapesti Közlekedési Vállalat Zrt.

Italy

Trolleybuses are in use in Ancona, Bologna, Cagliari, Chieti, Genoa, La Spezia, Lecce, Milan, Modena, Naples, Parma, Rimini, Rome and San Remo. The largest systems are in Milan (about 170 vehicles, serving four routes) and Naples (100 vehicles, eight routes), the latter being divided between two separate transport authorities (ANM and CTP). The system in Lecce is new, having opened in January 2012.^[30] Work is under way to reopen a system in Bari that closed in 1987, and other new systems are under construction in Avellino and Pescara,^[1] and are planned in Verona^[1] and Vicenza.^[31]

Latvia

Trolleybuses have been used in Riga since 1947. Currently there are 309 trolleybuses operated on 19 routes by Rigas Satiksme.^[32]

Lithuania

Trolleybuses have been used in Vilnius since 1956 (21 routes) and Kaunas (16 routes) since 1965.

Moldova

Trolleybuses are used in Chisinau (1949), currently 340 trolleybuses serving 23 routes, Bălți (1972), Tighina (1993) and Tiraspol (1967). Trolleybuses, along with rutieras, are the most used mode of public transport in Chisinau.

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.

Poland

Three cities operate trolleybuses: Lublin, Tychy and Gdynia. Several other Polish cities had trolleybus systems in the past; see List of trolleybus systems.

Portugal

Trolleybuses are currently operated only in Coimbra, where the system is managed by a municipal authority, SMTUC. Construction of a new trolleybus system in Amadora, a suburb of Lisbon, is planned.^[31] 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.

Romania

In addition to Timișoara (1942), where the first trolleybus system in Romania opened, and Bucharest (1949), where around 300 vehicles served 19 routes as of early 2009,^[29] 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),^[33] Iași (1985; closed 2006), Suceava (1987; closed 2006), Brăila (1989; closed 1999), Galați (1989), Mediaș (1989), Satu Mare (1994; closed 2005), Vaslui (1994), Piatra Neamț (1995), Târgu Jiu (1995), Târgoviște (1995; closed 2005), Baia Mare (1996), Slatina (1996; closed 2005), Ploiești (1997). A "DAC 117 E" (1987) is preserved by the TRANSIRA Association.^[34]

Russia

Trolleybus systems operate in 85 cities, including the largest network in the world, in Moscow. In Moscow, preserved vintage trolleybuses are available to the public only at transport-dedicated exhibitions and at parades on celebration days. In Saint Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod museum trolleybuses may be hired for city excursions and parties.

Serbia

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.^[35]

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.^[36] 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.^[36] 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.

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.^[37][38] 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.

Spain

Trolleybuses are currently in use only in Castellón de la Plana, where a new system opened on 25 June 2008;^[39] trolleybuses had previously served the town from 1963 to 1969.^[40] The Irisbus Civis vehicles are optically guided and are capable of switching to diesel power for turning in front of the Parque Ribalto.^[39][41]

Earlier, at least 12 trolleybus systems existed in Spain;^[3] 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.^[3] 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.^[3] In the 1960s and 1970s, more than 100 secondhand London double-deck trolleybuses operated on various Spanish systems.^[42]

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,^[43] making it one of the world's smallest systems; by September 2013, the fleet had been expanded to five trolleybuses.^[44] Forty years earlier, trolleybus systems existed in Gothenburg and Stockholm, the latter a large system with 12 routes.^[3]

Switzerland

Trolleybuses are in use in cities including Lausanne (10 lines), Lucerne (7 lines), Geneva (6 lines), Zürich (6 lines), Bern (5 lines), St. Gallen (4 lines), Neuchâtel (4 lines), Winterthur (4 lines), Fribourg (3 lines), La Chaux-de-Fonds (3 lines), Biel (2 lines), Schaffhausen (1 line), Vevey–Montreux (1 line).

The last trolleybus ran in Lugano in June 2001,^[45] and in Basel, where they have been replaced by gas-powered buses, on 30 June 2008.^[46] These are the only urban networks that have been closed in Switzerland.

In Lausanne, the Association RétroBus has preserved several vintage trolleybuses, the oldest example being a 1932 FBW,^[47] and operates them periodically on public excursions, especially on summer weekends.

Turkey

Trolleybuses have operated in two cities in the Asian part of Turkey and one in the European part. See the Eurasia section of this article, above.

Ukraine

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,^[3] the 86-km (54 mi.) route from Yalta to Simferopol.^[48]

United Kingdom

No trolleybus systems are in operation but a new Leeds trolleybus system is planned and the project was given preliminary government approval and funding in March 2010.^[49] 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.

North America

Canada

Edmonton was the most recent city to abandon its trolleybus network, ending service in May 2009, despite opposition from local citizens.^[50] Vancouver is currently the only Canadian city operating trolleybuses, with several other cities considering new trolleybus networks, including Laval and Montréal.

TransLink operates a fleet of 262 vehicles in Vancouver,^[51] locally known as "trolleys".^[52] 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.^[51] 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.^[53] Funded jointly by STL and Hydro-Québec,^[54] 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.^[53] 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.^[55][56] 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.^[55]

A new trolleybus system is also proposed for the city of Montréal proper, by STM.^[57] Montreal was previously served by trolleybuses from 1937 until 1966.^[3]

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.^[3]

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,^[58][59] 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),^[3] fitted with electrical equipment by various suppliers (including Hitachi, Toshiba, Kiepe and Mitsubishi) for batches of vehicles ordered at different times.^[60] The size of the fleet in 2008 was around 400.^[61]

Guadalajara opened a trolleybus system in 1976 using ex-Chicago trolleybuses dating from 1951–52. The last of these were withdrawn in January 1993,^[62] and since then the service has been provided by MASA trolleybuses, most of which had been acquired new in 1982–85.

United States

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.^[3]

Trolleybus systems are currently in operation in five U.S. metropolitan areas:^[1]

• Boston, Massachusetts, operated by MBTA; see Trolleybuses in Greater Boston.
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, operated by SEPTA; see Trolleybuses in Philadelphia.
• San Francisco, California, operated by San Francisco Muni; see Trolleybuses in San Francisco.
• Seattle, Washington, operated by King County Metro; see Trolleybuses in Seattle.
• Dayton, Ohio, operated by Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority; see Trolleybuses in Dayton.

Preservation

• 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 (1 km) 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,^[63] two from Canada and one from Switzerland (plus one matching passenger trailer from Switzerland).^[64] 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.^[65] As of 2009, the historic-vehicle fleet includes six trolleybuses, of which one is also a dual-mode bus.^[66]
• San Francisco Muni has a collection of seven historic trolleybuses, including three Flyer E800s of mid-1970s vintage, in operating condition, and four older vehicles which are not in running condition.
• A number of other museums in the United States have trolleybuses on static display only.

South America

Argentina

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).^[67] 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 80 Flyer ex Vancouver plus a Materfer prototype, Rosario has 20 Volvo made in Brazil, and Córdoba still uses some 40 ZIU and a single BKM demonstrator.

Brazil

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^[3] and also the largest system in South America.^[68] 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

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 5 km in length. The fleet is a distinctive mix of old American, Swiss and Chinese vehicles. The most famous vehicles are the Pullman-Standards, built in 1946–52, which are the oldest trolleybuses still in service anywhere in the world.^[69] They were declared national monuments in 2003.^[70] 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.^[71] 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).^[72]

Trolleybuses operated in Santiago from 1947–1978 and 1991–1994.^[3][73]

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.^[3] Russian-built ZIU and Romanian-built DAC trolleybuses comprised the entire fleet in the system's last several years of operation.^[74]

Ecuador

A distinctive and heavily used trolleybus system opened in Quito in stages in 1995–96.^[75] 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.^[76] The initial fleet of 54 articulated trolleybuses was expanded to 113 vehicles in 1999–2000.^[76] 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 (11.6 mi) in length.^[77] 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.^[3][67] The six trolleybuses were rebuilt as trams in 1931, the only known instance of trolleybuses' being converted into trams.^[67]

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.^[3]: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.^[3]

Venezuela

A trolleybus system opened in Mérida in June 2007.^[78][79] Like the 1995-opened Quito trolleybus system, the new Mérida system is 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 provides the service.^[79]

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.^[80] For the planned 22 km route, 80 articulated trolleybuses were purchased from Neoplan, in Germany, and construction of the system began in 2006,^[81] 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.^[82] 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.^[80] 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.^[83]

Many years earlier, a small trolleybus system (using only 11 vehicles) operated in Caracas from 1937^[67] until about 1949, and a short-lived system existed in Valencia from 1941 to about 1947.

See also

• List of trolleybus systems – for all-time lists, by country, of every trolleybus system ever known to have existed

References