Trolleybuses in Valparaíso, Chile, have provided a portion of the public transit service since 1952. The trolleybus system is the second-oldest in South America.Murray, Alan (2000). World Trolleybus Encyclopaedia, pp. 51, 81. Yateley, Hampshire, UK: Trolleybooks. . The originally state-owned system has been privately owned since 1982, and since 1994 it has been Chile's only operational trolleybus system. In the 1990s and 2000s, almost half of the fleet continued to be vehicles built in 1946–52 by the Pullman-Standard Company, and by 1999 they were the oldest trolleybuses in regular service anywhere in the world,Webb, Mary (ed.) (2009). Jane's Urban Transport Systems 2009-2010, pp. 65–66. Coulsdon, Surrey (UK): Jane's Information Group. .Trolleybus Magazine No. 281 (September–October 2008), p. 110. National Trolleybus Association (UK). .The Trolleybuses of Latin America in 2011. Allen Morrison. 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-14. until the retirement of the last active Pullman trolleybus in March 2023.Trolleybus Magazine No. 372 (November–December 2023), p. 248. National Trolleybus Association (UK). . Those vehicles were collectively declared a national monument by the Chilean government in 2003. They helped the city gain its designation by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, and have been called "a heritage sight in their own right" by at least one travel writer.
In 1991–1992 the system acquired several secondhand trolleybuses from four Swiss cities. Even these vehicles, already old at the time of acquisition, became historic in their continued service after some 45–50 years or more, with 1959-built ex-Zürich number 105 being the oldest articulated trolleybus of any make still in service on any trolleybus system worldwideTrolleybus Magazine No. 252 (November–December 2003), p. 131.Trolleybus Magazine No. 296 (March–April 2011), pp. 39–40. for almost 20 years until its retirement in May 2015.Trolleybus Magazine No. 323 (September–October 2015), p. 152. In the mid-2010s, a new group of secondhand Swiss trolleybuses, 18 1989-built NAWs from the Lucerne trolleybus system, began to arrive and by 2019 had replaced all of the older Swiss vehicles.Trolleybus Magazine No. 344 (March–April 2019), p. 68. By 2023, they made up the entire fleet, replacing the last of the vintage Pullman-Standard trolleybuses.
The Valparaíso trolleybus system has become one of the icons of the city, considered an important part of its cultural heritage.Al rescate de los trolebuses (To the rescue of the trolleybuses) (editorial). El Mercurio, 28 August 2002. Retrieved 2011-03-14.Trolleybus Magazine No. 275 (September–October 2007), pp. 109–110. Many – as residents of this port city commonly call themselves – are fond of their city's distinctive and historic trolleybus service and have spoken up in its defense when the system has come under threat of closure. The private operating company receives no government subsidy, and at times it has struggled financially, putting the system in danger of being closed. One such occasion, the company's announcement in May 2007 of imminent closure plans, brought an outcry from local citizens, and even Chile's president, Michelle Bachelet, expressed support for keeping the trolleybuses going.
Trolleybuses currently serve two routes, numbered 801 and 802 in a regional transportation plan implemented in 2007, Monday through Saturday, from about 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. There is no service on Sundays. Both routes connect Barón with Aduana, 801 via Avenida Pedro Montt, 802 via Avenida Colón and each is about long. The system is currently owned and operated by Locally, the vehicles are often referred to as (trolleys), as opposed to trolebuses.Morrison, Allen (May–June 1986). "The Trolleybuses of Valparaíso, Chile". Trolleybus Magazine No. 147, pp. 50–55.
History to 2007 Trolleybus service was inaugurated on 31 December 1952, as the country's second trolleybus system, after one that had opened in the capital, Santiago, in 1947. The Santiago system closed in 1978, and a second system that opened there in 1991 lasted only until 1994.The Trolleybuses of Santiago, Chile, Part B (detailed history, 1991–1994). Allen Morrison. 2006. Retrieved 2011-03-14.
Trolleybuses replaced Valparaíso's last tram (streetcar) service, which had been introduced in 1863 as a horse-drawn street railway, one of the first in South America, and been converted to electric trams in 1904.Morrison, Allen (1992). The Tramways of Chile, pp. 31–33, 49. New York: Bonde Press. . The last tram ran on 30 December 1952, and trolleybus service began the following day, on a route connecting Barón with Plaza Victoria. Only eight days later, on 7 January 1953, the route was extended from Plaza Victoria to Aduana. The eastern half of this first Barón–Aduana route followed Avenida Pedro Montt, but a second route connecting the same two termini but following Avenida Colón was introduced in February 1953.The Trolleybuses of Valparaíso, Chile, Part A (detailed history). Allen Morrison. 2006. Retrieved 2011-03-14. The western half of both routes was identical. The Avenida Colón route has remained in operation to the present day.
For many years, the Santiago and Valparaíso trolleybus systems were owned by the national government. Their original operator was the (ENT), which had taken over the tram systems in both cities in 1945. ENT was reorganized on 2 May 1953 as a new government agency, (ETCE), which then ran the system for the next 28 years. Both cities' systems used vehicles built by the American manufacturer, Pullman-Standard. For Valparaíso, ENT had purchased 30 new trolleybuses from Pullman. Although Pullman – better known for its railway coaches – was a major U.S. builder of trolleybuses, manufacturing more than 2,000 in total, the 30 for Valparaíso were the very last trolleybuses the company ever built.Morgan, Steve (1987). "Twin poles in South America". Traction Yearbook '87, p. 111. Merrick (NY), US: Traction Slides International. LCCN 81-649475.Motor Coach Age, July–September 1997, p. 35. Motor Bus Society (US). .Porter, Harry; and Worris, Stanley F.X. (1979). Trolleybus Bulletin No. 109: Databook II, pp. 69–71. Louisville (KY): North American Trackless Trolley Association (defunct). They were built in October and November 1952.
ETCE's Santiago system had a fleet of 100 Pullman trolleybuses (801–900), built in 1946 (the first six),Trolleybus Magazine No. 274 (July–August 2007), pp. 87 and 89. 1947 and 1948, expanded in 1953 by the acquisition of 100 trolleybuses supplied by the French company, Vétra (numbered 901–1000). In 1954, ETCE transferred 39 of the Santiago Pullmans to Valparaíso, for use on a new interurban route to Viña del Mar. Trolleybus service to Viña del Mar was inaugurated on 7 December 1959. However, the interurban service lasted less than five years, having already been abandoned by 1964, leaving trolleybuses in operation only within Valparaíso thereafter.
After the 1973 military coup, the new Pinochet administration reduced funding for government-run public transit, and the two trolleybus systems both deteriorated quickly. ETCE abandoned its Santiago trolleybus system in the latter half of 1978. The Vetra trolleybuses had been less reliable and had all been scrapped by this time, but ETCE transferred its remaining Santiago Pullman trolleybuses to Valparaíso, where some were placed in service and the remainder provided a supply of parts to keep the others running.
The Valparaíso system struggled to maintain its now-elderly vehicles and infrastructure with limited funds, but eventually succumbed, closing on 30 November 1981. However, a group of local businessmen interested in reviving the trolleybus service soon acquired the assets of the now-dissolved . On 26 April 1982 they formed a new company whose name intentionally used the same initials, (Electric Public Transport Company, Ltd.) (ETCE, again), and within two weeks had restored the service, using the same vehicles."20 trolebuses en busca de su pasado esplendor: Comenzó a operar empresa privada". La Estrella, 6 May 1982. Service continued to follow two routes, both connecting Barón with Aduana but alternatively via either Avenida Colón or Avenida Pedro Montt. The routes were not numbered.Trolleybus Magazine, various issues. National Trolleybus Association (UK). .
Service changes after 1990
The Avenida Pedro Montt route was discontinued in 1991, leaving only the Avenida Colón route in service. ETCE tried reinstating the Pedro Montt service twice since then, in October 2002 and January 2007, but withdrew it again just a few months later in both instances, after finding that competing service run by other bus companies along the same street made that corridor a money-loser for ETCE.
A new company named (TCSA) was established in 2000, with 40% ownership by ETCE president Pedro Massai. ETCE remained the system's overall owner and operator, but some of its assets, including the overhead trolley wires, were transferred to the new company. During a three-week suspension of service in August 2002, caused by a drivers' strike, some 20,000 residents signed a petition urging the two sides to reach agreement so that trolleybus service could be restored. The city's largest-circulation newspaper, , also published an editorial in support of restoring and maintaining the trolleybus service.
Trolebuses de Chile, S.A. became the operator of the trolleybus system in early 2007.
Paint schemes Although some vehicles wore a red-and-cream paint scheme/livery from the 1970s until 1981, for most of the system's history from its opening in 1952 until 2001 the standard fleet paint scheme was turquoise blue, or greenish-blue, with cream above the waist, and a silver roof. Around the early 1990s, a lighter shade of greenish blue was applied to Pullman trolleybuses that had been rebuilt, replacing the dark turquoise which remained in use on the other Pullmans.Trolleybus Magazine No. 238 (July–August 2001), pp. 87–88. Around 2001, this lighter greenish-blue briefly replaced the dark turquoise on most active Pullman trolleybuses not wearing advertising paint schemes, still with beige or cream upper portion. Most of the secondhand Swiss trolleybuses acquired in the 1990s retained their home-system paint schemes, but a few received advertising liveries or an all-over grass green color.Trolleybus Magazine No. 254 (March–April 2004), pp. 43–44. Then, in 2003, dark-green-and-cream was adopted as the fleet's new standard paint scheme, although most of the Swiss trolleybuses did not receive it until 2007,Trolleybus Magazine No. 257 (September–October 2004), p. 112.Trolleybus Magazine No. 261 (May–June 2005), pp. 62–63. when the new Plan de Transporte Metropolitano Valparaíso (TMV) (see below) imposed standardized paint-scheme requirements fleet-wide. The much younger ex-Lucerne trolleybuses that since 2023 have made up the entire fleet still wear the same green-and-cream but with white instead of silver along the roofline.Trolleybus Magazine No. 321 (May–June 2015), pp. 84, 86.
Fleet evolution, 1980s to 2000s
For nearly 40 years, the fleet comprised solely Pullman-Standard trolleybuses, a combination of new-to-Valparaíso 1952-built Pullmans (the 700-series) and, from 1954 on, a number of ex-Santiago Pullmans, built in 1946–1948 (the 800-series). All had electrical propulsion equipment by General Electric. As of 1986, the total number of trolleybuses available for service was 23–24.
Under a program started in late 1986 and continuing until 1989, ETCE rebuilt the bodies of some of its 800-series vehicles with more modern front ends and, in some cases, sides and backs also. The remaining 700-series vehicles were not rebuilt.
Expansion generated by plans for Santiago