Trolleybuses in São Paulo provide a portion 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 ...

service in

Greater São Paulo Greater São Paulo ( pt, Grande São Paulo) is a nonspecific term for one of the multiple definitions of the large metropolitan area located in the São Paulo state in Brazil. Definitions Metropolitan Area A legally defined specific term, ''Reg ...

, in the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, with two independent

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 ...

systems.Moraes, Jorge (March–April 1999). "São Paulo in 1998". ''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 224, pp. 32–35. National Trolleybus Association (UK). .Webb, Mary (ed.) (2011). ''Jane's Urban Transport Systems 2011-2012'', pp. " 3 and " 4 (in foreword). Coulsdon, Surrey (UK):

Jane's Information Group Jane's Information Group, now styled Janes, is a global open-source intelligence company specialising in military, national security, aerospace and transport topics, whose name derives from British author Fred T. Jane. History Jane's Informatio ...

. . The

SPTrans (SPTrans) (English: São Paulo Transport), is the name adopted on March 8, 1995 by the municipal local government which aims to manage the public transport system with buses in São Paulo. Until 1995, it was known as ', which, when translated fro ...

(São Paulo Transportes) system opened in 1949 and serves the city of

, while the

Empresa Metropolitana de Transportes Urbanos de São Paulo The Empresa Metropolitana de Transportes Urbanos de São Paulo, or EMTU, is a company owned by the Secretaria de Estado dos Transportes Metropolitanos (STM) ( en, State Secretariat for Metropolitan Transports). Created in 1977, it is responsible fo ...

(EMTU) system opened in 1988 and serves suburban areas to the southeast of the city proper. Worldwide, São Paulo is one of only two metropolitan areas possessing two independent trolleybus systems, the other being

Naples, Italy Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

History

The urban network now owned by

opened on 22 April 1949, the first trolleybus system to open in Brazil.Murray, Alan (2000). ''World Trolleybus Encyclopaedia'', pp. 49, 81. Yateley, Hampshire, UK: Trolleybooks. . The municipally owned system was operated by the ''Companhia Municipal de Transportes Coletivos'' (Municipal Public Transport Authority) (CMTC) until 1994, when it was semi-

privatized Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

, with a new municipal authority, SPTrans, maintaining public ownership of the system but with operation contracted out to private companies through a competitive bidding. At the start of privately run operation, there were three different concessionaires for different parts of the SPTrans, ex-CMTC trolleybus network. The SPTrans network was much larger at that time. The SPTrans system comprises 13 lines (two of them currently suspended) and is operated with 199 trolleybuses by a concessionaire, Ambiental Transportes Urbanos. SPTrans owns and maintains the infrastructure, such as

overhead wires An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as: * Overhead catenary * Overhead contact system (OCS) * Overhead equipmen ...

, substations, passenger terminals and depots/garages. Ambiental is responsible for purchasing new vehicles, but ownership of vehicles passes to SPTrans eight years from time of purchase. Ambiental was awarded the concession to operate the service in SPTrans Zone 4 (also known as the Eastern Zone), both trolleybus and motorbus, in 2011, after the purchase of Himalaia Transportes. The EMTU trolleybus system opened on 3 December 1988, (sometimes given as 19 November 1988, when

free Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything * Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism * Emancipate, to procur ...

public service began operating). It currently has six lines, serving the

São Mateus–Jabaquara Metropolitan Corridor The São Mateus–Jabaquara metropolitan corridor (Portuguese: ''Corredor Metropolitano São Mateus-Jabaquara''), also called ABD Corridor (''Corredor ABD'') is a bus rapid transit line in Brazil, linking the city of São Paulo to three neighbori ...

, which links São Paulo with the ABC Region cities of Diadema,

São Bernardo do Campo São Bernardo do Campo () is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of São Paulo. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 844,483 (2020 est.) in an area of . History The city was founded b ...

, Santo Andre and

Mauá Mauá () is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, in Brazil. Is part of the metropolitan region of São Paulo. The population as of 2020 is 477,552 inhabitants (11th largest city in population number of the state), the density is and the ar ...

in Greater São Paulo. These lines are also operated by a concessionaire,

Metra Metra is the commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 242 stations on 11 rail lines. I ...

, under the supervision of EMTU. Metra was awarded the contract in 1997.

SPTrans lines

The last two of these lines are the ones currently suspended; they are presently being operated by diesel powered buses.

SPTrans current fleet

As at 2014, the SPTrans trolleybus fleet was as follows: File:São Paulo Marcopolo-Volvo trolleybus 1949 in 2009.jpg, The last high-floor trolleybuses on the SPTrans system were retired in September 2013.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 313 (January–February 2014), pp. 16–17. National Trolleybus Association (UK). The last such vehicles in service were Marcopolo/Volvo trolleybuses built in the 1990s. File:Trolebus8000nalinha2100MarcosElias.JPG, SPTrans Marcopolo/Volvo

articulated An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent pivot joint in its construction, allowing it to turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buses, trams and trains. Steam locomotives were someti ...

trolleybus No. 1486. It originated in 1985 as a CAIO/Volvo trolleybus (No. 8000) but was rebodied in 1997 by Marcopolo. It has since been retired. File:Trolleybus_Low_Floor_4_1500_-_Sao_Paulo,_Brazil.JPG, Busscar trolleybus, built in 2007, seen at Av. Rangel Pestana, near Parque Dom Pedro II. It is a

low-floor Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i.e ...

model.

EMTU lines

Service on all lines is operated with a mix of trolleybuses and diesel buses.

EMTU current fleet

As at 2014, the EMTU trolleybus fleet was as follows:

References

External links

SPTrans website

Metra website

Trolleybus city: Sao Paulo (SPT)
an
Trolleybus city: São Paulo (EMTU)
at Trolleymotion (German, with automated translation to English and other languages available on-site) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Trolleybuses in Sao Paulo SPTrans Transport in São Paulo

1949 establishments in Brazil