We haven’t had a trolley bus article this week, so here’s one for all of you suffering withdrawal pangs.
Moscow’s trolley bus system — the world’s largest, with 1600 vehicles and 87 routes — turned 75 this week and celebrated in style with a parade of trolleys new and old. There’s a news report and video (in English) on this Russian news site. The picture above is of a modern Moscow trolley.
Wellington’s trolley bus system will turn 60 on June 20 next year. Plans are under way to mark the occasion also with a parade of trolleys old and new. Most of the 62 new Designline trolley buses should be in service by then.
Not many cities have operated trolley buses continuously longer than Moscow.
The world’s oldest trolley bus system is the one in Shanghai, where the first trolley rolled in 1914. The oldest system in North America is in Philadelphia, which started using trolley buses in 1923. The oldest system in western Europe is the large network of Lausanne in Switzerland, which opened in 1932. Britain no longer has trolley buses (though their reintroduction is being considered). Its first and last were in Bradford, which ran trolleys from 1911 to 1972.
The newest system is in Castellón de la Plana, Spain, which began operations in June this year. Others are nearing completion in Lecce in Italy and Barquisimeto, Venezuela. Rome notably reintroduced trolley buses in 2005 after a 33-year absence.
There are currently 347 trolley bus systems in different parts of the world, including 161 in Europe, 117 in Russia and the former USSR, 18 in the Americas and 49 in east Asia. Wellington boasts the only trolley bus system in Australia and New Zealand, as the others long ago closed — Australia’s last in Brisbane and Perth in 1969, Auckland’s in 1980, Dunedin’s in 1982, New Plymouth’s in 1967 and Christchurch’s in 1956.
19 Comments
November 26, 2008 at 10:11 am
Hmm the design of those look oddly familar. I wonder where I might have seen them before?
November 26, 2008 at 10:42 am
Interesting stats as always. Wow, 117 different systems just in Russia!
November 26, 2008 at 10:45 am
That’s quite a common bus design, especially going back to the mind 1980’s through to the early/mid 1990’s. It looks very similar to the MAN SL202 diesels that are floating around in the major cities in NZ plus other MAN models as well. You also see this design on Mercesdes buses, mainly in Australia for this side of the world. It’s a German design, known as VoV (don’t ask me what the full German names are).
November 26, 2008 at 11:20 am
Were there ever trams in Moscow? I’m guessing they just start right off with trolley buses.
By the way, with all the discussion of putting buses back through Manners Mall, it’s been suggested that because Manners Street is so narrow, it should be trolley only, as the noisy diesels make Manners Street really unpleasant to walk down.
November 26, 2008 at 11:20 am
It’s a German design, known as VoV (don’t ask me what the full German names are).
Verband Offentlicher Verkehrsbetriebe, or Union of Public Transport Companies.
But I think Stef means that it looks like the trolley buses in Pyongyang, North Korea, which copied the design of the former USSR-style trolleys.
That Moscow one is not VoV. It is some kind of Ikarus (a Hungarian make), large numbers of which operate in Moscow.
Were there ever trams in Moscow? I’m guessing they just start right off with trolley buses.
Moscow has one of the world’s biggest tramway systems too! Many cities with trolley buses also have trams as they can use the same power supply, eg, Rome, San Franciso, Lyon, Zurich, Bern, Geneva, Philadelphia, Boston…. Athens has a huge trolley bus system and also reinstated trams on one long route for the 2004 Olympics. In fact trams have become so popular again that I believe there are now more cities with trams than with trolley buses. Even places like London and Paris have trams again, after doing away with them decades ago.
November 26, 2008 at 11:44 am
They may be about to go wireless and get much smaller – called Avego.
You have probably seen this on U tube but just in case.
I sent this to the Green web page – stony silence.
“Here is some really good news – Avego.
Watch it here:
http://www.avego.com/ui/index.action
I remember my ex Professor (and later friend and colleague), the late Mel Webber, Dean of the Transportation Centre at UC Berkeley, predicting this over twenty years ago. Even the Greens will surely support this new technology – although sad to say one US jurisdiction has sabotaged it because they feared the loss of passengers on their buses and trains. So maybe not!
This is the future.”
Actually I suspect it may well have most impact in rural areas where we old folks will eventually lose our licences but still want point to point transport.
And ride sharing etc is already part of the culture.
November 26, 2008 at 11:52 am
sooooo… you’re suggesting our trolley buses are popular with communists.
the RWDB are going to have a field day with this one.
kerry might pop a stress valve if she realises.
[Poneke says: Che! Communism fell in Europe when the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain collapsed -- almost two decades ago! They are all capitalists there now... as they are in China, where there is a Communist Party government in name only. I believe the only remaining communist states in the whole world are North Korea, Cuba and maybe Vietnam though capitalism seems to rule there too these days. Of these only North Korea has trolley buses. Oh I forgot, Nick Kelly's Maoist friends recently took over Nepal which has a trolley bus line in Kathmandu. And Venezuela is regarded with a bit of suspicion by the wingnuts.]
November 26, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Poneke, you’re forgetting Laos, and the governments of Nepal and Moldova also have strong communist elements. I could have sworn there was still a communist country in Africa, but I can’t for the life of me remember which one. Hrm. To the search engine, Robin!
November 26, 2008 at 12:56 pm
“Communism fell in Europe when the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain collapsed — almost two decades ago! They are all capitalists there now… as they are in China, where there is a Communist Party government in name only. I believe the only remaining communist states in the whole world are North Korea, Cuba and maybe Vietnam though capitalism seems to rule there too these days. ”
What about the USA? I have it on … authority that they just elected a dirty commie!
OK, so maybe I should stop reading Redbaiter’s comments.
November 26, 2008 at 2:24 pm
poneke. the systems were established by commies, and probably still infect right-thinking people with their dirty, dirty electric mind-waves.
which is scientific, btw. all that magnetism caused by the overhead wires makes my glasses rise up sometimes.
stranger still, considering they’re plastic.
November 26, 2008 at 3:14 pm
The bus has the SVARZ logo on the front but I do not know which model it is.
Harry
November 26, 2008 at 3:48 pm
“OK, so maybe I should stop reading Redbaiter’s comments.”
Wish you would.
November 27, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Well as a frequent user of Moscow trolley buses in 1994-1995 I would have to say they are some of the worst forms of transport in the world. They make the old Wellington trolley buses look super reliable. I used a trolley bus at least 4 times a day and it was an exception if the trolley bus did not breakdown, come off the wires, or just plain catch on fire.
Of course there may have been a big improvement since then that I am not aware of.
[Poneke says: There has been a major upgrade of the former delapidated Soviet-era infrastructure since then! As well as many new trolley buses, and also new routes.]
November 27, 2008 at 9:36 pm
What about the USA? I have it on … authority that they just elected a dirty commie!
San Francisco’s full of pinkos and they have trolley buses, although they call them something else as the trams are called trolleys.
November 28, 2008 at 6:34 am
San Francisco’s full of pinkos and they have trolley buses, although they call them something else as the trams are called trolleys.
No, San Francisco’s trams are called “streetcars” (or even “trains”!), and the trolley buses are called “trolley coaches.”
In Philadelphia, the trams are called “trolleys” and the trolley buses are called “trackless trolleys.”
November 28, 2008 at 10:38 am
I doubt one would expect that the new capitalist governments to rip out the trolley bus infrastructure, etc…
Communism, capitalism, who cares, the trolley buses are a still a fine piece of transport infrastructure, and good for stringing things like broadband lines from…
November 28, 2008 at 12:14 pm
lay track! encourage trams!
then we can have our own Moomba festival.
November 28, 2008 at 7:49 pm
In Philadelphia, the trams are called “trolleys” and the trolley buses are called “trackless trolleys.”
Madness!
December 19, 2008 at 11:53 am
poneke, it not true that Moscow has one of the world’s biggest tramway system. It was so in St.Petresburg (the second largest russian city), before the 2001-2007 years when almost half of network was closed because of stupid politic of city goverment supporting bus companys.
Moscow tram network consist of apx. 35 routes, most of them in city outskirts.
Tram coaches a high floor and not accesible for wheel chairs.
And speaking about trolley busses, on the photo is not modern type of car, it prodused in 2003 using the body of LiaZ bus ( 1989 y.)
some of modern Moscow trolleybusses was in the parade.
You can see photos here:
http://stts.mosfont.ru/articles/438/
Trolley bus on the photo is not modern, it is MtrZ 6223 model prodused 5 years go in Moscow trolleybus repair shops using body of LiaZ bus which was designed in 80-th.
Modern russian trolleys prodused in Vologda in Trans Alfa factory, in Engels in the factory which made famous russian ZIU-9 trolley bus an in Moscow.
There are some photos of them:
Trans Alfa low flor trolley bus:
http://stts.mosfont.ru/photo/87725/
Trolza low flor trolleybus:
http://stts.mosfont.ru/photo/40569/
MTRZ :
http://stts.mosfont.ru/photo/16141/
Here you can see photos from parade:
http://stts.mosfont.ru/articles/438/