This time in Prague: 7th trolley:motion electric bus conference

What could be a better place to hold this year’s electric bus conference organised by the trolley:motion association than the Czech capital Prague? Not (only) due to its tourist appeal, of course, but above all because of the opening of the first two lines of a modern battery-powered trolleybus system. This attracted a lot of international attention (we reported HERE, among other things) in the professional world.

As a result, the Prague DPP actively supported the organisation of the conference, which included a number of interesting presentations and a visit to the new line 59, which started revenue service in March. It is operated with double-articulated battery trolleybuses from Skoda (with bodies from the Polish manufacturer Solaris) – up to 17 of the existing 20 vehicles are in use on the line during the day. The UITP was also present with various representatives and the trolleybus committee – the joined event together with the UITP proved to be a very good idea to combine forces.

As part of the conference, the UITP eBRT 2023 project gave an overview of the objectives and current status of efforts to increase the use and expansion of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems, particularly in Europe, including the various efforts to further develop technology in the field of electric mobility in the bus sector, for example through in-motion charging solutions and enhanced electric road systems in the area of charging infrastructure, but also in the fields of IoT connectivity and vehicle development.

Examples of eBRT applications from Prague, Rimini, Mexico City and San Francisco were considered, as were the efforts to modernise the trolleybus system in Tallinn, which was threatened with closure just a few years ago.

The EU-funded CE4CE project aims to implement the concepts of the circular economy in local public transport to a greater extent than before, both in terms of vehicles and infrastructure as well as energy consumption. The CE4CE Circular Compass (circularity4publictransport.eu) can provide good support here. There was also plenty to learn from the perspective of how mobility solutions can be integrated into cities’ circular economy concepts. How digital twin models can help design the necessary investments for electrification through energy flow simulation and are already being used in Gdynia/Poland, among other places, was also discussed, as were new sustainability trends in the design of trolleybus networks, for example through preventive maintennance concepts.

The company e-bus plan presented planning tools for analysing which form of electric bus operation makes economic sense on which routes and hepls to design the best possible route network.

The IMC trolleybus project in Marburg illustrates the long decision-making and approval processes involved in the introduction and expansion of such a system in Germany. Three variants with different lengths of overhead line were analysed. On the steep roads up the ‘Lahnberge’, the IMC bus is a technically and economically viable alternative to the current diesel bus service.

In Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, a few years ago a battery bus line was introduced alongside the existing trolleybus service, with pantograph recharging at the end points. Extensive investigations, in particular into energy consumption with its pronounced peaks and the associated costs compared to a much more evenly distributed trolleybus network, led to the decision to also include these lines in a future increased use of battery trolleybuses (IMC). In addition, the current operating process with 1 electric bus line, 2 battery trolleybus lines, 1 pure trolleybus line and 4 diesel bus lines shows potential for optimisation through standardisation: In the medium term, by 2030, the transport company wants to fully electrify the network and switch to battery-powered trolleybuses – this will require a whole 2.5 km of new overhead line! A corresponding vehicle tender was awarded to the local manufacturer Hess, we report here: https://www.urban-transport-magazine.com/en/hess-lightram-large-orders-and-options-for-the-swiss-market/ .

And finally, the future of the trolleybus system in Coimbra, Portugal, attracted a great deal of interest: A BRT bus system with Chinese battery buses is being introduced there, the long-neglected trolleybus service has been at a standstill since 2021, vehicles and infrastructure are still available. All of this could form a very good basis for a modern IMC trolleybus system in the city with its steep gradients with a manageable amount of modernisation, but there is obviously a lack of political understanding and support at present. UITP and trolley:motion can certainly provide support here.

All in all, another very interesting event – very well suited as a platform for exchanging views on the various use cases, technical solutions and the different planning and operational challenges. Our report can, of course, only give a snapshot of the overall content.

Let’s look forward to the next conference in 2 years’ time!