Contactless trolleybuses have entered the routes of Vitebsk
In total, the enterprise received four new vehicles manufactured by Belkommunmash under a leasing agreement, equipped with powerful lithium-ion batteries. The batteries are charged while in motion from the contact network. Full charging time is 15 minutes. This speed is achieved, in part, due to additional charging stations.
The new trolleybuses will operate on various city routes, more frequently in areas without a contact network. The new vehicles can be identified by their lowered "horns" and maneuverability, similar to regular passenger transport. These trolleybuses can travel 15 km on battery power, which is effectively a full route. The new vehicles will spend half of their working time operating autonomously and the other half as regular trolleybuses.
Another feature of the transport is the presence of video surveillance systems. Two high-resolution cameras record the interior, and two record the road ahead and behind. Currently, 20 trolleybuses in the city's fleet are equipped with such an upgrade, and it is planned to equip all vehicles with video surveillance systems over time.
"The initial impressions of the new trolleybuses from drivers and passengers are very positive. We will see how they perform further (for serious conclusions, we need to accumulate at least 10,000 km of mileage), and in the future, it is planned to increase their number," noted Dmitry Savchits.
Vitebsk's trolleybus fleet includes 94 trolleybuses, of which 69 operate daily on weekdays on 11 city routes. The average length of these routes (excluding route No. 4, which covers the regional center almost entirely) is 10 km. The depot's workforce is about 450 people, and the entire Vitebsk City Electric Transport branch of Vitebskoblavtotrans OJSC has 1.3 thousand employees.