Chernivtsi can receive trolleybuses from Switzerland for free: what is known about the transfer

Chernivtsi can receive trolleybuses from Switzerland for free, but a final decision on the transfer of the vehicles has not yet been made. The city is in urgent need of updating its fleet: of the 68 existing vehicles, only 45 go out on routes daily, while approximately twice as many are needed. The situation is further complicated by a shortage of trolleybus drivers. This is reported by Mолодий буковинець.

When Chernivtsi could receive trolleybuses from Switzerland

The possibility of transferring the vehicles was announced by Chernivtsi's mayor Roman Klichuk while answering residents' questions on Facebook. The director of the Chernivtsi Trolleybus Administration, Hryhoriy Orobets, clarified that negotiations are currently ongoing.

In June, representatives of the CTA met with the program manager of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, Mark-Alexander Graf, and the coordinator of programs at the Swiss Embassy in Ukraine, Maria Druzhinina.

The parties discussed cooperation with Swiss municipalities in the field of public transport, sharing experiences, and possible joint projects. Swiss representatives also familiarized themselves with the state of the Chernivtsi Trolleybus Administration and its rolling stock.

«Experts carefully examined the state of affairs at the CTA. We showed what transport we have and presented the company's presentation,» Orobets said.

At the same time, Chernivtsi is not the only city applying for the transport. The Swiss side is studying the needs of municipal enterprises in various regions of Ukraine, after which they will determine to whom the vehicles will be transferred.

Chernivtsi is already receiving transport aid from Europe. Recently, the city received three buses from Luxembourg, which are expected to go out on routes after being registered and having validators installed.

Which trolleybuses they want to replace in Chernivtsi

If Chernivtsi receives Swiss vehicles, they primarily plan to replace the old articulated trolleybuses, so-called «articulated buses». Their maintenance is becoming increasingly challenging due to a lack of necessary spare parts.

«We would primarily replace them with the articulated trolleybuses, as there are no spare parts for them anymore. Several trolleybuses have even been retired because of this,» explained the head of the CTA.

Currently, the fleet consists of 68 trolleybuses, but only about 45 operate daily on the lines. According to Orobets, the city needs approximately twice as many vehicles for proper passenger service.

Even receiving additional equipment will not fully solve the transport problem. The CTA is short of 90 bus and trolleybus drivers, so part of the existing transport cannot regularly go out on routes.

Recall that earlier Inkorr reported that due to a shortage of drivers in Chernivtsi, most of the 15 buses the city received from Prague sat idle.