- Bergen trolleybus
Infobox Public transit
name = Bergen trolleybus
imagesize = centre
locale =Bergen ,Norway
transit_type =Trolleybus
began_operation =December 15 1909
system_length = 4.1 km
lines = 1
stations =
ridership = 6,000
track_gauge =
marks =
employees =
operator = Tide
BT map
map_state = show|The Bergen trolleybus system is the onlytrolleybus system still in operation inNorway . The system opened onFebruary 24 1950 as theBergen Tramway was gradually closed and some of the tramway lines were transferred to trolleybus operation. The system was originally built and operated byBergen Sporvei , and is now operated by its successor, Tide. As of 2007 the system consists of six trolleybuses and twodual-mode bus es.History
The first trolleybus network in Norway, the
Drammen trolleybus network, opened in 1909. Planning for a trolleybus system of their own first began inBergen in 1928, and in 1937 Bergen Sporvei, the company operating Bergen's tramway, began studying trolleybus systems around Europe. OnJuly 7 1940 the city council decided to build two trolleybus lines: Line 5 , with aMulen - city centre -Møhlenpris route, and Line 7, with aNordnes - city centre - Fjøsangerveien route. In 1942 Bergen Sporvei started converting some of theirgasolene buses to trolleybuses, but in 1944 the German occupation forces took the completed bus and moved it toLübeck , and the company stopped rebuilding their buses.The fuel shortage duringWorld War II made trolleybuses extremely popular, since Norway had an abundance of cheapelectricity .cite book |last=Aspenberg |first=Nils Carl |title=Trolleybussene i Norge |year=1996 |publisher=Baneforlaget |location=Oslo |pages=96] After the war the construction of the 4.1 km Line 5 started, and in 1950 Tramline 3 was replaced with the new trolleybus Line 5. By that time, five gasolene buses had been converted, giving aheadway of 10 minutes. A year later, three more buses were bought fromStrømmens Værksted and the headway was reduced to 7.5 minutes. The line was popular, and traffic increased. In 1954 the conversion of Tramline 2 to trolleybus started, and in 1957 the 6.5 km Line 2 opened with 18 new buses. The ridership reached its peak in 1959 with more than ten million passengers per year on the two routes. In 1960 the car sale in Norway was deregulated, resulting in fewerpublic transport riders.Through the 1970s Bergen Sporvei tried to end the trolleybus operation, but the city council wouldn't allow that. However, in 1995 there was major road work resulting in the closure of Line 5. As of 2007, Line 5 has remained closed, leaving Line 2 the only operational trolleybus line in Norway. Plans related to the new
Bergen Light Rail system involve expanding the trolleybus line from Møhlenpris to Oasen and from Mulen to |location=Oslo]References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.