Megatrolleybus starts with passenger rides

With the successful completion of test rides without passengers, the longest trolleybus in Slovakia, which is all of 24 metres long, will enter the next phase of the homologation tests. The Bratislava Transport Company (DPB) therefore becomes the first carrier in the Czech Republic and Slovakia to deploy such long trolleybuses in passenger service; you can now take the Megatrolleybus for a test drive on line 71.

Bratislava's new Megatrolleybus has completed nearly 2,500 test kilometres since its delivery, including 1,250 kilometres laden. Its homologation tests, necessary to obtain an operating permit, have advanced to the next stage. As with the innovative Bratislava tram or hybrid trolleybuses, the Megatrolleybus has now been deployed by the DPB for test runs with passengers. The purpose is not only to verify the functionality of essential components such as the information system, but also the operation of the door or signalling systems. Once this test phase is completed, all sixteen Megatrolleybuses will be ready for operation.

The Megatrolleybus will complete the planned 5,000 test kilometres on line 71 connecting eastern Bratislava with the city centre. This is a particularly busy line during rush hours, and its further reinforcement was not technically feasible. The Megatrolleybuses will significantly improve the quality of travel between the Main Station, the business zone around Miletičova Street, and Dolné hony. The available seating capacity will increase by 20%, the total transport capacity by almost 50%.

"I am excited to see the megatrolleybus move on to the next stage and start carrying our city's residents. This is an important step for improving transportation in Bratislava. In recent years, we have significantly decreased the intervals on many of our carrier lines, which means that many services are now running much more frequently. In Bratislava, we want and need to increase the public transport capacity, and larger, higher-capacity vehicles are the way to achieve this. On many lines we already have such tight intervals that it could be difficult to deploy additional vehicles. That's why bigger vehicles are the answer," says Mayor Vallo.

"The expansion of ecologically sound trolleybus transport in Bratislava is our current priority. I am happy that the megatrolleybus project is progressing as planned and today we are bringing into our city vehicles that reliably carry passengers in a number of western cities with advanced transport systems. I would like to encourage all our passengers to come and ride through Bratislava's streets on this "giant". Following the successful homologation tests of the innovative Bratislava tram and the articulated hybrid trolleybus, this is yet another milestone in our goal to continually improve the comfort of travelling," adds Martin Rybanský, DPB’s Chair of the Board.

These sixteen double-articulated vehicles are delivered to the Transport Company by a consortium of Solaris Bus & Coach sp. z o.o., Solaris Slovakia s.r.o. and ŠKODA ELECTRIC a.s. based on the results of a public procurement, and their purchase is financed via EU funds through the Operational Programme Integrated Infrastructure (OPII).

The DPB will put a total of 50 new hybrid trolleybuses into service by the end of 2023. In addition to the 16 Megatrolleybuses equipped with supplementary battery drive, there are 23 articulated and 11 standard 12-metre hybrid trolleybuses, whose batteries already enable longer distances to be travelled off the overhead lines. Both passengers and residents of the streets along the routes of bus lines 41 and 61, as well as trolleybus line 40, where trolleybuses with auxiliary diesel generator are currently operating, can benefit from an environmentally friendly and quiet mode of transport.