Trolleybuses in Chișinău

The Chișinău trolleybus system forms an important part of the public transport network in Chișinău, the capital of Moldova. The system was created shortly after the end of the World War II to replace the old electric tram system that suffered extensive damage during the war.^[1] Along with the network of minibuses known as rutierele, it forms the backbone of the Chișinău transport system, with the average daily ridership reaching 250,000 passengers per day.^[2][3]

Chișinău trolleybus system
AKSM-321 trolleybus in front of the airport, Chișinău, Moldova
Operation
Locale	Chișinău, Moldova
Open	1949 (1949)
Status	Open
Routes	24
Operator(s)	Regia Transport Electric Chișinău (RTEC)
Infrastructure
Electrification	600 V DC
Statistics
Route length	246 km (153 mi)
Overview Chisinau trolleybus network map, 2013.
Website	http://www.chisinau.md/pageview.php?l=ro&idc=478 RTEC (in Romanian)

History

The history of the trolleybus network in Chișinău goes back to 1949 when the city council took the decision to introduce it as a substitute for the tram network that was heavily damaged during World War II and could only be rebuilt to a limited extent. The first line connecting the Chişinău Railway Station with the University of Medicine ran along the Stephen the Great boulevard, where the former tram tracks were removed, and was served by six MTB-82D units. In 1959 the tram depot was transferred to serve the trolleybus system that comprised over 50 units at that time, and by 1961 trolleybuses had completely replaced the trams. The second and the third depots were introduced into service in 1966 and 1986, respectively.^[1]

Lines

The trolleybus network consists of 22 lines covering all the city districts and the suburb of Durlești.^[4]

Line	Route
02	bd. Traian – str. Pușkin	circular route
03	șos. Balcani – str. Miorița
04	Grădina Botanică – str. Constituţiei	connection with Chisinau railway station
05	Trolleybus depot 2 – str. Bariera Sculeni	connection with Chisinau railway station
07	A.B.A.-4 – str. 31 August 1989
08	bd. Traian – parcul "La izvor"	connection with Chisinau railway station
09	Schinoasa-2 – Autogara Nord	connection with Autogara Nord (North bus station) connection with Autogara Sud (South bus station)
10	str. Studenților – str. Miorița
11	str. Studenților – parcul "La izvor"
13	str. Ion Dumeniuc – str. Dokuceaev	connection with Autogara Nord (North bus station)
16	Uzina de frigidere – str. 31 August 1989
17	Schinoasa 2 – Gara	connection with Chisinau railway station connection with Autogara Sud (South bus station)
20	Trolleybus depot 2 – Autogara Nord	connection with Chisinau railway station connection with Autogara Nord (North bus station)
21	Uzina de frigidere – șos. Balcani
22	șos. Balcani – Grădina Botanică
23	str. Ion Dumeniuc – parcul "La izvor"
24	str. Ion Dumeniuc – str. Mioriţa
25	str. Ceucari – str. 31 August 1989
26	str. Ceucari – str. Ion Dumeniuc
27	str. Ceucari – str. Ion Creangă
28	or. Durlești – str. Sarmizegetusa	connection with Chisinau railway station
29	Universitatea Agrară – parcul "Ștefan cel Mare"
30	Aeroportul Internațional Chișinău – str. 31 August 1989	connection with Chișinău International Airport

Fleet

AKSM-321 operating on the route 22.

Škoda 14Tr in 2006

YuMZ T2 in 2009

The fleet consists mainly of the various modification of the Soviet-built ZiU-9 and the recently purchased low-floor vehicles AKSM-321 manufactured by Belkommunmash in Belarus (Chișinău is the third-largest user of this model, after Minsk and Moscow). In addition, the network also operates a number of the Czech-produced Škoda 14Tr (popular with the drivers) and Ukrainian-built YuMZ-T2.^[5]

Model[6]	Total / Active
ACSM-321	101 / 98
RTEC 62321M2	65 / 59
RTEC 62321M1	64 / 62
RTEC 6232100DM3	40 / 40
Škoda 14TrM	39 / 32
ZiU-682V variants	23 / 20
Škoda 24Tr Irisbus Citelis	20 / 20
YuMZ T2	20 / 19
ZiU-682G variants	17 / 13
ZiU-683V01	5 / 3
ACSM-433 Vitovt Max II	5 / 5
Solaris Trollino II 18 AC	10 / 10
Solaris Trollino II 18 Ganz	5 / 5
ACSM-213	2 / 2
RTEC 624201M1	1 / 1
VMZ-5298.00 (VMZ-375)	1 / 1
YuMZ T1	1 / 1

In 2021, two trolleybuses built by the now-defunct Dutch manufacturer APTS (Advanced Public Transport Systems), to its Phileas design, were acquired secondhand: A 2011 prototype for a planned new busway system in Pescara, Italy, and a 2014 prototype (with doors on both sides) for the Metromare busway then under construction in Rimini, Italy.^[7] Neither ever entered service on the systems for which they had been purchased, and eventually they were sold to a dealer in secondhand vehicles.^[8] They were given fleet numbers 1000 and 1001 in Chișinău, and No. 1001 entered service in June 2022.^[9]

Payment system

Every vehicle has a fare collector who sells single-ride tickets valid for this particular ride only. Alternatively, one can purchase a monthly ticket, valid for a calendar month. A single-ride ticket costs (since September '22) 6 MDL, and the price of the monthly pass is 234 MDL. There are also: monthly ticket for scholars and students – 70 MDL, ticket for 15 days – 100 MDL, monthly ticket for students with social privileges – 70 MDL, monthly ticket for economic agents – 320 MDL.