A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tram or trolley) is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires (generally suspended from roadside posts) using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit. This differs from a tram or streetcar, which normally uses the track as the return part of the electrical path and therefore needs only one wire and one pole (or pantograph). They also are distinct from other kinds of electric buses, which usually rely on batteries.

Currently, around 315 trolleybus systems are in operation, in cities and towns in 45 different countries. Altogether, more than 800 trolleybus systems have existed, but not more than about 405 concurrently.

Background

The trolleybus dates back to 29 April 1882, when Dr. Ernst Werner von Siemens ran his "Elektromote" in a Berlin suburb. This experimental demonstration continued until 13 June 1882, after which there were few developments in Europe, although separate experiments were conducted in the USA. In 1899, another vehicle which could run either on or off rails was demonstrated in Berlin. The next development was when Lombard Gérin operated an experimental line at the Paris Exhibition of 1900 after four years of trials, connecting the Exhibition with the Porte de Vincennes. Max Schiemann took the biggest step when on 10 July 1901 the world's first passenger-carrying trolleybus operated at Bielathal (near Dresden), in Germany. Schiemann built and operated the Bielathal system, and is credited with developing the under-running trolley current collection system, with two horizontally parallel overhead wires and rigid trolleypoles spring-loaded to hold them up to the wires. Although this system operated only until 1904, Schiemann had developed what is now the standard trolleybus current collection system. In the early days there were a few other methods of current collection. The Cédès-Stoll system was operated near Dresden between 1902 and 1904, and in Vienna. The Lloyd-Köhler or Bremen system was tried out in Bremen, and the Filovia was demonstrated near Milan.

Leeds and Bradford became the first cities to put trolleybuses into service in Great Britain on 20 June 1911. Bradford was also the last to operate trolleybuses in the UK, the system closing on 26 March 1972. The last rear-entrance trolleybus in Britain was also in Bradford and is now owned by the Bradford Trolleybus Association. Birmingham was the first to replace a tram route with trolleybuses, while Wolverhampton, under the direction of Charles Owen Silvers, became world-famous for its trolleybus designs. There were 50 trolleybus systems in the UK, London's being the largest. By the time trolleybuses arrived in Britain in 1911, the Schiemann system was well established and was the most common, although the Cédès-Stoll system was tried in West Ham (in 1912) and in Keighley (in 1913).

In the U.S.A., some cities, led by the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT—New York), subscribed to the all-four concept of using buses, trolleybuses, trams (in US called ''streetcars'' or ''trolleys'') and rapid transit subway and/or elevated lines (metros), as appropriate, for routes ranging from the lightly used to the heaviest trunk line. Buses and trolleybuses in particular were seen as entry systems that could later be upgraded to rail as appropriate. In a similar fashion, many cities in Britain originally viewed trolleybus routes as extensions to tram (streetcar) routes where the cost of constructing or restoring track could not be justified at the time, though this attitude changed markedly (to viewing them as outright replacements for tram routes) in the years after 1918. Although the BMT in Brooklyn built only one trolleybus line, other cities, notably San Francisco (California), and Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), built larger systems and apparently still maintain an "all-four" approach to the current day. Some trolleybus lines in the United States (and in Britain, as noted above) came into existence when a trolley or tram route did not have sufficient ridership to warrant track maintenance or reconstruction. In a similar manner, a proposed tram scheme in Leeds, United Kingdom, was changed to a trolleybus scheme to cut costs.

Trolleybuses are uncommon today in North America, but they remain common in many European countries as well as Russia and China, generally occupying a position in usage between street railways (trams) and diesel buses. Worldwide, around 315 cities or metropolitan areas are served by trolleybuses today. (Further detail under Use and preservation, below.)

Design

{| |- | | # Electrified line # Destination or route sign # Rear view mirror # Headlights # Boarding (entry) doors # Direction (turning) wheels # Exit doors # Traction wheels # Decorative elements # Retractors/retrievers # Pole rope # Shoes # Trolley pole(s) # Pole storage hooks # Trolley pole base and fairing/shroud # Bus Number |}

Advantages

Trolleybuses are advantageous on hilly routes, as electric motors are more effective than diesel engines in providing torque at start-up, an advantage for climbing steep hills. Unlike combustion engines, electric motors draw power from a central plant and can be overloaded for short periods without damage. San Francisco and Seattle, both hilly American cities, use trolleybuses partly for this reason, another being improved air quality. Given their acceleration and braking performance, trolleybuses can outperform diesel buses on flat stretches as well.

Trolleybuses' rubber tyres have better adhesion than trams' steel wheels on steel rails, giving them better hill-climbing capability and braking. Unlike rail vehicles (where side tracks are not available), an out-of-service vehicle can be moved to the side of the road, with its trolley poles disconnected, allowing other trolleybuses to pass. Additionally, because they are not tracked, trolleybuses can pull over to the curb as a diesel bus does, eliminating boarding islands in the street.

Like other electric vehicles, trolleybuses are more environmentally friendly than fossil-fuel or hydrocarbon-based vehicles (petrol/gasoline, diesel, alcohol, etc.). Although the power is not free, having to be produced at centralised power plants with attendant transmission losses, it is produced more efficiently. Further, it is not bound to a specific fuel source and is more amenable to pollution control as a point source supply than are individual vehicles with their own engines exhausting noxious gases and particulates at street level. Moreover, some cities, like Calgary, Alberta, run their light rail networks using wind energy, which is effectively emission-free once the turbines are built and installed. Other cities, Vancouver, B.C., for instance, use hydroelectricity. A further advantage of trolleybuses is that they can generate electricity from kinetic energy while braking, a process known as regenerative braking.

Unlike buses or trams, trolleybuses are almost silent, lacking the noise of a diesel engine or wheels on rails. Such noise as there is tends to emanate from auxiliary systems such as power steering pumps and air conditioning. Early trolleybuses without these systems were even quieter and, in the UK at least, were often referred to as the "Silent Service". The quietness did have its disadvantages though, with some pedestrians falling victim to what was also known as the "Silent Death" (in Britain) or "Whispering Death" (in Australia).

Trolleybuses are specially favoured where electricity is abundant and cheap. Examples are the extensive systems in Vancouver, Canada and Seattle, USA, both of which draw hydroelectric power from the Columbia River and other Pacific river systems. San Francisco operates its system using hydro power from the city-owned Hetch Hetchy generating plant.

Trolleybuses are used extensively in large European cities, such as Athens, Belgrade, Bratislava, Bucharest, Budapest, Kiev, Lyon, Milan, Minsk, Moscow, Riga, Saint Petersburg and Sofia, as well as smaller ones such as Arnhem, Bergen, Brest (Belarus), Cluj-Napoca, Coimbra, Gdynia, Kaunas, Lausanne, Limoges, Luzern, Parma, Piatra Neamţ, Plzeň, Prešov, Salzburg, Solingen, Szeged, Tallinn and Yalta. Realising the advantages of these zero-emission vehicles, some cities have started to expand their systems again, while others, such as Lecce and Leeds, plan to introduce new trolleybus systems.

In Cambridge, Massachusetts, the trolleybus system has survived because Harvard Station has a tunnel that was once used for trams that requires left-side doors and has fume concerns. Buses also use the tunnel, but the trolleybuses remain due to popular support.

Disadvantages

Re-routings, temporary or permanent, are not usually readily available outside of "downtown" areas where the buses may be re-routed via adjacent business area streets where other trolleybus routes operate. This problem was highlighted in Vancouver in July 2008, when an explosion closed several roads in the city's downtown core. Because of the closure, trolleys were forced to detour several kilometers off their route in order to stay on the wires, leaving major portions of their routes unserved and service well off schedule.

Some trolleybus systems have been criticised for aesthetic reasons, with city residents complaining that the jumble of overhead wires was unsightly. Intersections often have a "webbed ceiling" appearance, due to multiple crossing and converging sets of trolley wires.

Dewirements — when the trolley poles come off of the wires — sometimes occur, especially in areas subject to heavy snow. After a dewirement, trolleybuses not equipped with an auxiliary power unit (APU) are stranded without power. However, dewirements are relatively rare in modern systems with well-maintained overhead wires, hangers, fittings and "contact shoes". Trolleybuses are equipped with special insulated pole ropes which drivers use to reconnect the trolley poles with the overhead wires in case of dewirement. When approaching switches, trolleybuses usually must decelerate in order to avoid dewiring, and this deceleration can potentially add slightly to traffic congestion.

Trolleybuses cannot overtake one another in regular service unless two separate sets of wires with a switch are provided or the vehicles are equipped with off-wire capability, but the latter is an increasingly common feature of new trolleybuses.

Recent power developments

With the introduction of hybrid designs, trolleybuses are no longer tied to overhead wires. Since the 1980s, trolleybus systems in Muni in San Francisco, TransLink in Vancouver, and in Beijing, among others, have bought trolleybuses equipped with batteries to allow them to operate fairly long distances away from the wires. Supercapacitors can be also used to move short distances.

Trolleybuses can optionally be equipped either with limited off-wire capability—a small diesel engine or battery pack—for auxiliary or emergency use only, or full dual-mode capability. A simple auxiliary power unit can allow a trolleybus to get around a route blockage or can reduce the amount (or complexity) of overhead wiring needed at operating garages (depots). This capability has become increasingly common in newer trolleybuses, particularly in North America and Western Europe, where the vast majority of new trolleybuses delivered since the 1990s are fitted with at least limited off-wire capability. These have gradually replaced older trolleybuses which lacked such capability. In Philadelphia, new trolleybuses (known there as "trackless trolleys") that were placed in service by SEPTA in 2008 are equipped with small hybrid diesel-electric power units for operating short distances off-wire, instead of using a conventional diesel drive train or battery-only system for their off-wire movement.

King County Metro in Seattle, Washington and MBTA in Boston use or have used dual-mode buses that run on electric power from overhead wires on a fixed right-of-way and on diesel power on city streets. Metro used special-order articulated Breda buses with the center axle driven electrically and the rear (third) axle driven by a conventional power pack, with electricity used for clean operation in the downtown transit tunnel. They were introduced in 1990 and retired in 2005, replaced by cleaner hybrid buses, although 59 of 236 had their diesel propulsion equipment removed and continue (as of 2010) in trolley bus service on non-tunnel routes. MBTA uses dual-mode buses on its new (2004-opened) Silver Line (Waterfront).

Other considerations

With increasing diesel fuel costs and problems caused by particulate matter and NO_x emissions in cities, trolleybuses may be seen as the best option, either as the primary transit mode or as a supplement to rapid transit and commuter rail networks.

It has been suggested that trolleybuses will become obsolete in a future hydrogen economy, but direct electric transmission is at least twice as efficient as the alternative, viz. conversion of energy into hydrogen, transportation and storage of the hydrogen and its conversion back into electricity by fuel cells.

Being electric, trolleybuses are very much quieter than diesel- or petrol-engined vehicles. While this is mainly seen as a benefit, it does also make it is easier for unobservant pedestrians and other motorists to miss hearing a trolleybus when crossing a street and risk being struck.

Trolleybuses can share overhead wires and other electrical infrastructure (such as substations) with tramways. This can result in cost savings when trolleybuses are added to a transport system that already has trams, though this refers only to potential savings over the cost of installing and operating trolleybuses alone.

Trolleybus wire switch

Trolleybus wire switches (referred to as "frogs" in some countries) are used where a trolleybus line branches into two. A switch may be either in a "straight through" or "turnout" position; it normally remains in the "straight through" position unless it has been triggered, and reverts to it after a few seconds. Triggering is often caused by a pair of contacts or electromagnets, with one attached to each trolleybus wire, close to but before the switch itself.

Multiple branches may be handled by installing more than one switch. For example, to provide straight-through, left-turn or right-turn branches at an intersection, one switch is installed some distance from the intersection to choose a line over the left-turn lane, and another switch is mounted close to the intersection to choose between straight through and a right turn. (This would be the arrangement in countries such as the US, where traffic directionality is right-handed; in left-handed traffic countries such as Britain and New Zealand, the switch some distance from the intersection would be used to access the right-turn lanes, and the switch close to the intersection would be for the left-turn fork instead.)

Three common types of switch exist: Power-on/Power-off (the picture of a switch above is of this type), Selectric, and Fahslabend.

A Power-on/Power-off switch is triggered if the trolleybus is drawing power from the overhead wires, usually by accelerating, when the poles pass over the contacts. (The contacts are lined up on the wires in this case.) If the trolleybus "coasts" through the switch it will not activate. Some trolleybuses, such as those in Philadelphia and Vancouver, have a "power-coast" toggle switch that turns the power on or off. This allows a switch to be triggered in situations that would otherwise be impossible, such as activating a switch while braking or accelerating through a switch without activating it.

A Selectric switch has a similar design, but the contacts on the wires are skewed, often at a 45-degree angle, rather than being lined up. This skew means that a bus going straight through will not trigger the switch, but a trolleybus attempting a sharp turn (usually a right turn in countries with right-handed traffic) will cause its poles to meet the wires in a matching skew with one pole ahead of the other, which will trigger the switch.

For a Fahslabend switch, the trolleybus's turn indicator (or a separate driver-controlled switch) causes a coded radio signal to be sent from a transmitter, often attached to a trolley pole. The receiver is attached to the switch and causes it to trigger if the correct code is received. This has the advantage that the driver does not need to be accelerating the bus (as with a Power-on/Power-off switch) or trying to make a sharp turn (as with a Selectric switch).

Trolleybus makers

Current

Astra Bus (Romania)

Belkommunmash

VDL Berkhof

Bogdan

Bashkir Trolleybus Plant (BTZ)Ufa

BredaMenarinibus^IT (owned by Finmeccanica)

Busscar (Brazil)

DesignLine (New Zealand)

Electrotrans-Service

Eletra Industrial Ltda (Brazil)

ELBO (Greece)

Fiat Group

*Iveco

**Irisbus (with electrical equipment by Škoda Works)

Hess

LiAZ

LuAZ

LAZ

Mercedes-Benz

MAZ

New Flyer Industries or Flyer Industries

PTMZ

Škoda Works

Solaris Bus & Coach (with electrical equipment by Ganz (owned by Škoda Works) and DP Ostrava)

SOR Libchavy^{CS, PL} (with electrical equipment by Škoda Works)

Sunwin

TransAlfa

Trolza, major producer in Russia

Van Hool

Viseon Bus (formerly Neoplan's trolleybus production)

Volvo

Volgograd transport & mashinery plant

YuMZ - Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine

Youngman

ZIU (Uritsky) – see Trolza

Defunct or no longer making trolleybuses

Alfa Romeo, Italy

AM General, USA

AnsaldoBreda and predecessors Ansaldo Trasporti and Breda Costruzioni Ferroviarie (but a related company, BredaMenarinibus, is still making trolleybuses), Italy

Aviant Aircraft Factory, Kiev, Ukraine

Associated Equipment Company, UK

Berna, Switzerland

British United Traction, UK

Chavdar, Bulgaria

Crossley Motors, UK

Daimler Motor Company, UK

Dennis Specialist Vehicles, UK

Electric Transit, Inc., USA-based joint venture

Fiat (subsidiary Irisbus is still manufacturing trolleybuses), Italy

FBW, Switzerland

Gräf & Stift, Austria

Guy Motors, UK

Henschel. Germany

Hispano-Suiza, Spain

Ikarus, Hungary

J.G. Brill, USA

Jelcz, Poland

Lancia, Italy

Leyland Motors, UK

Mafersa, Brazil

Marmon-Herrington, USA

Menarini, Italy – acquired by Breda in 1989, forming BredaMenarinibus

MASA (Mexicana de Autobuses SA) - now part of Volvo, Mexico

NAW, Switzerland

Neoplan, Germany (see Viseon Bus, above)

Neoplan USA

Pegaso, Spain

Praga, Czech Republic

Pullman-Standard, USA

Richard Garrett & Sons, UK

Rocar, Romania

Saurer, Switzerland

Salvador Caetano, Portugal

St. Louis Car Company, USA

Socimi, Italy

Sunbeam, UK

Tatra, Czech Republic

Tushino Mechanical Plant, Russia

Twin Coach, USA

Vétra,^FR France

Yaroslavl motor plant, Russia

Types

List of low-floor trolleybuses

Belkommunmash: AKSM (or BKM)- 221, 321, 333, 420

Bogdan: T601, T701, T801, T901

Busscar: Urbanuss Pluss

DesignLine

Hess (or Carrosserie Hess)

*Eurotrolley 3

*Swisstrolley 3

*lighTram 3

Ikarus: 411T, 412T, 435T

Irisbus: Civis, Cristalis

LAZ

*ElectroLAZ: 12, 20

MAN/Kiepe NG

MAZ: 103T, 203T

Neoplan

*N6014/6108/6110/6114/6121

*Electroliner: N6216/N6221/N6321

New Flyer Industries: E40LFR, E60LFR

Solaris

*Trollino: 12, 15, 18

Škoda: 21Tr, 22Tr, 24Tr, 25Tr, 26Tr, 27Tr, 28Tr

TrolZa: Megapolis

Van Hool: A330T, AG300T

Jelcz

Double-decker trolleybuses

Since the end of 1997, no double-decker trolleybuses have been in service anywhere in the world, but in the past several manufacturers made such vehicles. Most builders of double-deck trolleybuses were in the United Kingdom, but there were a few, usually solitary, instances of such trolleybuses being built in other countries, including in Germany by Henschel (for Hamburg); in Italy by Lancia (for Porto, Portugal); in Russia by the Yaroslavl motor plant (for Moscow) and in Spain by Maquitrans (for Barcelona). British manufacturers of double-deck trolleybuses included AEC, BUT, Crossley, Guy, Leyland, Karrier, Sunbeam and others.

In 2001, Citybus (Hong Kong) converted a Dennis Dragon (#701) into a double-decker trolleybus, and it was tested on a 300-metre track in Wong Chuk Hang in that year. Hong Kong decided not to build a trolleybus system, and the testing of this prototype did not lead to any further production of vehicles.

Use and preservation

There are currently around 315 cities or metropolitan areas where trolleybuses are operated, and more than 500 additional trolleybus systems have existed in the past. 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 in some countries.

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. 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 & Oceania

Armenia

24 trolleybus lines run in Yerevan, Armenia. The trolleybuses have been operating in the streets of Yerevan since 1949.

Australia

Australia has no remaining trolleybus systems, but such systems existed in Adelaide, Brisbane, Hobart, Launceston, Perth and Sydney. 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 once in 27 different cities in China. Currently, the number is 10, such as Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Wuhan, Qingdao and Jinan, among other locations. Shanghai's system is the oldest existing trolleybus system in the world, having been in operation since November 1914. Beijing's trolleybus system, the most extensive in China, is served by trolleybuses that can run for considerable distances on battery power. In Shanghai, new battery-only buses have been ordered to replace certain trolleybus routes. 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.

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.

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. 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) and 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.

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, but they did not come to fruition. Trolleybus operation was suspended again in November 2008, and in 2009 that cessation was made permanent. ''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. 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. 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.

Turkey

In the Asian part of Turkey, trolleybuses have operated in Ankara and Izmir; see Turkey listing in ''Europe'' section, below, for details.

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. The last system, that of Ghent, which ceased operation in June 2009, 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, 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. One of those unique vehicles, restored to double-ended configuration, is preserved at the ''Musée des Transports en commun du Pays de Liège''. 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), Plovdiv (1955), Pleven (1985), Varna (1986), Kazanlak (1987), Stara Zagora (1988), Ruse (1988), Sliven (1988), Vratsa (1988), Dobrich (1988), Pernik (1989), Gabrovo (1990), Haskovo (1990), Veliko Tarnovo (1990), Burgas (1991) and Pazardzhik (1993). The most developed system in terms of density is in Pleven, with 14 trolleybus routes, totalling , and one bus route. The largest system is in Sofia: . Now the Kazanlak system is not in operation. In the late 80s the towns of Dimitrovgrad and Gorna Oryahovitsa started to build networks, but due to financial problems the projects were suspended. Also that is the reason for closing Kazanlak's system.

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 Ohří 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 2004, 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. There were nine routes, but one closed on 31 March 2000 - the overhead wires remain in place. There has been talk about a tenth line but this has never been brought to reality.

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''. In Helsinki a single trolleybus line was operated, 1949–1974. An attempt to restore trolleybus operation in Helsinki was made in the late 1970s; this resulted in the acquisition of a prototype trolleybus that was used between 1979 and 1985. Three Helsinki trolleybuses have been preserved. Of these, number 605 is on display at the Helsinki tram museum. Helsinki considers restoring trolleybuses.

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.

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, 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, Milan, Modena, Naples, Parma, Rimini, Rome and San Remo. The largest systems are in Milan (about 150 vehicles, serving four routes) and Naples (100 vehicles, eight routes), the latter being divided between two separate transport authorities (ANM and CTP). Work is under way to reopen a system in Bari that closed in 1987. New systems are under construction in Avellino, Lecce and Pescara, and are planned in Verona and Vicenza.

Latvia

Trolleybuses have been used in Riga since 1947. There are 20 trolleybus lines.

Lithuania

Trolleybuses have been used in Vilnius since 1956 (20 routes) and Kaunas (16 routes) since 1965.

Moldova

Trolleybuses are used in Chişinău (1949), Bălţi (1972), Tighina (1993) and Tiraspol (1967). Trolleybuses are the most used transport in Chişinău

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. Two other cities used trolleybuses in the past: Braga was served by trolleybuses from 1963 to 1979. In Porto, Sociedade dos 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 Bucharest (1949), where around 300 vehicles were serving 19 routes as of early 2009, the larger trolleybuses systems opened in 1959: Brașov (shrunk considerably in the 2000s), Cluj (1959), Constanta (1959; shrunk considerably in the 2000s; closed 2010). An exception is Timişoara (1942) built with Italian equipment and vehicles. Most smaller systems were opened through a government program in the 1980s and 1990s, though only about half survive: Sibiu (1983; closed 2009), Iaşi (1985; closed 2006), Suceava (1987; closed 2006), Brăila (1989; closed 1999), Galaţi (1989), Mediaş (1989), Satu Mare (1994; closed 2005), Vaslui (1994), Piatra Neamţ (1995), Târgu Jiu (1995), Târgovişte (1995; closed 2005), Baia Mare (1996), Slatina (1996; closed 2005), Ploieşti (1997). A "DAC 117 E" (1987) is preserved by the TRANSIRA Association.

Russia

:''See also: List of trolleybus systems in Russia and Trolleybus in former Soviet Union countries'' Trolleybus systems operate in 87 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.

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. 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 1943, with standard trolley poles. 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. In 1912, it was replaced by a tram on the same route. From 1951 until 1971, trolleybuses served Ljubljana, the capital of the then Socialist Republic of Slovenia, till 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; trolleybuses had previously served the town from 1963 to 1969. The Irisbus Civis vehicles are optically guided and are capable of switching to diesel power for turning in front of the Parque Ribalto.

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

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 employs four trolleybuses, making it one of the world's smallest systems. Forty years earlier trolleybus systems existed in Gothenburg and Stockholm, the latter a large system with 12 routes.

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 and in Basel, where they have been replaced by gas powered buses, on 30 June 2008. 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, and operates them periodically on public excursions, especially on summer weekends.

Turkey

Trolleybuses have operated in three cities: Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir. 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. 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.

Ukraine

Trolleybus systems run in more than 25 cities, 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, the 86-km (54 mi.) route from Yalta to Simferopol.

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. In past, more than 50 systems existed and a large number of trolleybuses have been preserved at British museums. 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. The Bradford Trolleybus Association is restoring Bradford trolleybus 758, the last rear-entrance trolleybus in Britain, which is kept at Sandtoft. The last trolleybuses ran in Bradford in 1972.

North America

Canada

Trolleybuses now are used only in Vancouver, where TransLink operates a fleet of 262 vehicles, locally known as "trolleys". The city's aging trolley fleet was replaced in 2006–2009 with new low-floor models, including 74 articulated units. Despite opposition from local citizens, Edmonton ended trolleybus service in May 2009.

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. Funded jointly by STL and Hydro-Québec, 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. 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. 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.

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

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.

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

Guadalajara opened a trolleybus system in 1976 using ex-Chicago trolleybuses dating from 1951-52. The last of these were withdrawn in January 1993, 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, more than 60 cities in the United States have been served by trolleybuses, in some instances by two or more independent systems operated by different private companies.

Trolleybus systems are currently in operation in five U.S. metropolitan areas:

Boston, Massachusetts: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Silver Line Waterfront service

*Cambridge, Massachusetts: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority; see Boston-area trackless trolleys

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: SEPTA

San Francisco, California: San Francisco Muni

Seattle, Washington: King County Metro

Dayton, Ohio: Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority

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. 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. As of 2009, the historic-vehicle fleet includes six trolleybuses, of which one is also a dual-mode bus.

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). 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. Trolleybuses are currently in use in Mendoza, Rosario and Córdoba.

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 and also the largest system in South America. 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. They were declared national monuments in 2003. 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. 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).

Trolleybuses operated in Santiago from 1947–1978 and 1991–1994.

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

Ecuador

A distinctive and heavily used trolleybus system opened in Quito in stages in 1995-96. 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. The initial fleet of 54 articulated trolleybuses was expanded to 113 vehicles in 1999-2000. 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 in length. 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. The six trolleybuses were rebuilt as trams in 1931, the only known instance of trolleybuses' being converted into trams.

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.

Venezuela

A trolleybus system opened in Mérida in June 2007. 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. A similar new trolleybus BRT system is under construction in Barquisimeto, and for this system 80 articulated trolleybuses have been purchased from Neoplan, in Germany. Many years earlier, a small trolleybus system (using only 11 vehicles) operated in Caracas from 1937 until about 1949.

See also

Bombardier Guided Light Transit

Dual-mode transit

Electric bus

Gyrobus

List of trolleybus systems

Low-floor bus

Tourist trolley

Translohr

Trolleytruck

Notes

Books

Murray, Alan (2000). ''World Trolleybus Encyclopaedia''. Trolleybooks (UK). ISBN 0-904235-18-1

Sebree, Mac; and Ward, Paul (1973). ''Transit's Stepchild, The Trolley Coach'' (Interurbans Special 58). Los Angeles: Interurbans. LCCN 73-84356

Sebree, Mac; and Ward, Paul (1974). ''The Trolley Coach in North America'' (Interurbans Special 59). Los Angeles: Interurbans. LCCN 74-20367

Porter, Harry; and Worris, Stanley F.X. (1979). ''Trolleybus Bulletin No. 109: Databook II''. North American Trackless Trolley Association (defunct)

Dunbar, Charles S. (1967). ''Buses, Trolleys & Trams''. Paul Hamlyn Ltd. (UK) [republished 2004 with ISBN 0-7537-0970-8 or 9780753709702]

Periodicals

''Trolleybus Magazine'' (ISSN 0266-7452). National Trolleybus Association (UK), bi-monthly

''Trackless'', Bradford Trolleybus Association, quarterly

''Trolleybus'', British Trolleybus Society (UK), monthly

External links

TrolleyMotion - an international action group to promote modern trolleybus systems (+ database of systems in the world)

British Trolleybuses

Trolleybuses in Latin America

North American trolleybus pictures

All-time list of North American trolleybus systems, accessed 30 January 2004

Bibliography of the electric trolleybus (Richard DeArmond)

The Electric Trolleybus Web Site

Trolleybuses in Europe

Trolleybus cities of Russia

Category:Types of buses Category:Electric buses Category:Sustainable transport

ab:Атроллеибус be:Тралейбус be-x-old:Тралейбус bs:Trolejbus bg:Тролейбус ca:Troleibús cs:Trolejbus da:Trolleybus de:Oberleitungsbus et:Trollibuss el:Τρόλεϊ es:Trolebús eo:Trolebuso fa:اتوبوس برقی fr:Trolleybus ko:무궤도전차 hr:Trolejbus id:Bus listrik os:Троллейбус it:Filobus he:טרוליבוס krc:Троллейбус kk:Троллейбус lv:Trolejbuss lt:Troleibusas hu:Trolibusz mn:Троллейбус nl:Trolleybus ja:トロリーバス no:Trolleybuss nn:Trolleybuss mhr:Тӱканорва uz:Trolleybus pl:Trolejbus pt:Trólebus ro:Troleibuz ru:Троллейбус simple:Trolleybus sk:Trolejbus sl:Trolejbus sr:Тролејбус fi:Johdinauto sv:Trådbuss tt:Trolleybus tr:Troleybüs uk:Тролейбус zh-yue:無軌電車 zh:無軌電車