The Ruse
trolleybus
A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...
system ( bg, Русенски тролейбусен транспорт) is a part of the
public transport
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
network of the city and
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
of
Ruse
Ruse may refer to:
Places
*Ruse, Bulgaria, a major city of Bulgaria
**Ruse Municipality
** Ruse Province
** 19th MMC – Ruse, a constituency
*Ruše, a town and municipality in north-eastern Slovenia
* Ruše, Žalec, a small settlement in east-ce ...
, the
fifth most populous in
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
. Opened in 1988, the system currently has seven lines and forms the backbone of the city's transport system. Its approximate length is 63 km and has been designed to work with 600V DC electricity.
[ ] Over the years, various models of trolleybuses have been operated in Ruse.
History
![RUSE_1993](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/RUSE_1993.jpg)
The first trolleybus in the city of Ruse departed in 1988, along the route starting from the Western Industrial Zone. Lines were operated using
ZiU trolleybuses. In the following years, as the city was developing, the cable network was extended throughout the central areas and the industrial zones, replacing many bus routes with trolleybuses.
It was announced on November 1, 2008 that Ruse municipality had signed a concession agreement with the Bulgarian branch of the Israeli transport company
Egged. Under the concession, management of the trolleybus network in the city became the responsibility of the private Egged Ruse transport holding. In 2015, around 70% of the overhead wire network was replaced under the integrated urban transport project. Work also included the replacement of damaged trolleybus pillars and their repainting. It was during this period that conductor service was discontinued for all trolleybus lines as a permanent cost-cutting measure.
Passengers instead purchase subscription and prepaid cards or a single-use ticket directly from the driver. After nearly nine years of operating under a private holding and low overall profitability, the trolleybus transport entity was once again transferred to the local municipality on August 31, 2017.
Throughout the city, new switches equipped with automatic remote control functionality were installed in 2022 to replace outdated infrastructure and enhance trolleybus performance.
Public tenders have also been launched for the refurbishment of overhead wires between the central railway station and the gray mill.
Services
Today, the Ruse trolleybus network has 7 lines:
[
]
Fleet
Current fleet
The main short-term goal for Ruse municipality has been to ensure the operation of the trolleybus system. For this purpose, 12 Skoda
Škoda means ''pity'' in the Czech and Slovak languages. It may also refer to:
Czech brands and enterprises
* Škoda Auto, automobile and previously bicycle manufacturer in Mladá Boleslav
** Škoda Motorsport, the division of Škoda Auto respons ...
and 5 NAW/Lauber trolleybuses in used condition were purchased to supplement the local fleet of aging vehicles in 2019. Determined to be most suitable for the current needs of the city, a further 20 NAW/Lauber vehicles were acquired by early 2022. Ruse is expected to receive 15 new trolleybuses from Czech manufacturer SOR Libchavy
SOR Libchavy (Sdružení Opravárenství a Rozvoje) is a Czech manufacturer of buses for urban, intercity and tourist traffic and trolleybuses. It was established in Libchavy in 1991.
History
Until 1990, the company produced and repaired agricul ...
by the end of 2023.
Past fleet
During the early years of the network, solely ZiU trolleys were used. Retired trolleybuses from the Swiss cities of Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
, Bern
german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese
, neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen
, website ...
, and Winterthur
, neighboring_municipalities = Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell
, twintowns = Hall in Tirol (Austria), La ...
were then introduced to the network in the late 1990s. The entire stock of vehicles, consisting of Soviet built ZiU and former Swiss trolleybuses, was replaced in several stages between 2008 and 2013 with second-hand trolleybuses from various European countries. Many of these vehicles have also been retired since the reacquisition of the transport holding by the local municipality, some remain in operation.
See also
*Ruse Central railway station
Ruse Central railway station ( bg, Централна железопътна гара Русе, translit=Tsentralna zhelezopatna gara Ruse) is the main station serving the city and municipality of Ruse, the fifth most populous city in Bulgaria. ...
*List of trolleybus systems
This is a list of cities where trolleybuses operate, or operated in the past, as part of the public transport system. The original list has been divided to improve user-friendliness and to reduce article size. Separate lists—separate articles i ...
References
External links
Trolleybus city: Ruse (Bulgaria)
Trolleymotion.
*
{{coord, 43, 51, , N, 25, 58, , E, type:railwaystation_region:BG_source:enwiki, display=title
Ruse, Bulgaria
Ruse
Ruse may refer to:
Places
*Ruse, Bulgaria, a major city of Bulgaria
**Ruse Municipality
** Ruse Province
** 19th MMC – Ruse, a constituency
*Ruše, a town and municipality in north-eastern Slovenia
* Ruše, Žalec, a small settlement in east-ce ...
Ruse
Ruse may refer to:
Places
*Ruse, Bulgaria, a major city of Bulgaria
**Ruse Municipality
** Ruse Province
** 19th MMC – Ruse, a constituency
*Ruše, a town and municipality in north-eastern Slovenia
* Ruše, Žalec, a small settlement in east-ce ...