New trolleybuses to cut public transport maintenance costs and increase its capacity
The new trolleybuses will replace the outdated vehicles whose service time, 12 years, has already expired. At present Rīgas satiksme runs a fleet of 267 trolleybuses, of which 66 have reached the critical age of 12 years (including 44 18-meter trolleybuses and 22 12-meter trolleybuses). In the coming six years another 62 trolleybuses will pass this age. Today the oldest trolleybuses used by Rīgas satiksme are 25 years old. Running 12-year and older trolleybuses is expensive and inefficient, their maintenance costs increasing significantly every year. The old trolleybuses will be sold by auction or used for spare parts.
Statistics show that the number of passengers carried by trolleybuses in Riga is growing every year. In the last three years it increased by almost 2 million – from 44.4 million in 2010 to 46.2 million in 2012. Data also show that public transport becomes increasingly overcrowded, and the most efficient solution would be to use vehicles of higher capacity. A public transport passenger opinion poll by SKDS also confirms that Riga public transport passengers see overcrowded vehicles as problem No. 1, which Rīgas satiksme should solve first and foremost. The Information centre of Rīgas satiksme also receives passenger complaints about overcrowded trolleybuses on a regular basis. 86% of all complaints were about 12-meter trollybuses.
Leons Bemhens, chairman of Rīgas satiksme board: "One of the main advantages of the new trolleybuses equipped with diesel engines is the possibility of establishing new connections and extending the existing routes without additional investment in the development of the contact system infrastructure. The freshest example is the closure of bus route No. 33 and replacing it with trolleybus No. 3 running to Kundziņsala. In the nearest future such trolleybuses will be used on route No. 19. As Lucavsala recreation area develops, 12-meter trolleybuses running on this route will be replaced by 18-meter vehicles. With the new trolleybuses, it will not be necessary to launch more trolleybuses onto route No. 27, as short 12-meter vehicles will be replaced by 18-meter ones."
All new trolleybuses will be equipped with diesel engines, air conditioning systems, customised electronic payment systems, monitors, video surveillance systems, passenger counters, and spare parts necessary for maintenance of the vehicle before it runs the distance of 150,000 km (it will take more than 2 years), as well as other equipment. The trolleybuses will be bought by instalments, and the whole amount will be paid to the manufacturer within 8 years after the delivery of the last vehicle. The contract provides that the number of trolleybuses to be delivered may be increased by 38 vehicles.
The first stage of renovating Riga’s trolleybus fleet ended in 2009, after the delivery of the last new 12 meters long Škoda 24Tr Irisbus. At the time a plan envisaging the replacement of 18-meter trolleybuses in coming years was also approved, yet its implementation was postponed for several years due to financial reasons. Now the share of obsolete trolleybuses has started growing rapidly, and their maintenance costs also grow disproportionally year after year.
Rīgas satiksme operates 19 trolleybus routes, with more than 46 million passengers carried every year. Its trolleybus fleet includes 95 trolleybuses of 18 meters and 172 trolleybuses of 12 meters.
For more information about the services provided by Rīgas satiksme, public transport routes and schedules, types of tickets and other news, please visit our webpage at www.rigassatiksme.lv, social networks twitter, facebook, draugiem.lv or call our toll-free information phone 80001919.
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