The Chișinău trolleybus system forms an important part of the public transport network in Chișinău, the capital of Moldova. The system was created shortly after the end of the World War II to replace the old electric tram system that suffered extensive damage during the war. Along with the network of minibuses known as rutiere, it forms the backbone of the Chișinău transport system, with the average daily ridership reaching 250,000 passengers per day.

History The history of the trolleybus network in Chișinău goes back to 1949 when the city council took the decision to introduce it as a substitute for the tram network that was heavily damaged during World War II and could only be rebuilt to a limited extent. The first line connecting the Chişinău Railway Station with the University of Medicine ran along the Stephen the Great boulevard, where the former tram tracks were removed, and was served by six MTB-82d units. In 1959 the tram depot was transferred to serve the trolleybus system that comprised over 50 units at that time, and by 1961 trolleybuses had completely replaced the trams. The second and the third depots were introduced into service in 1966 and 1986, respectively.

Lines As of March 2026 the Chișinău trolleybus network consists of 32 lines covering all the city districts and the suburban areas such like Durlești, Stăuceni, Trușeni and Bubueci. Line Route Notes 1 or. Durlești – str. Sarmizegetusa connection with Chisinau railway station 2 bd. Traian – str. Pușkin circular route 3 șos. Balcani – str. Miorița 4 Grădina Botanică – str. Constituţiei connection with Chisinau railway station 5 Trolleybus depot 2 – str. Bariera Sculeni connection with Chisinau railway station 7 str. Uzinelor - str. Alexei Mateevici 8 bd. Traian – parcul "La izvor" connection with Chisinau railway station 9 Autogara Sud Vest – Autogara Nord connection with Autogara Nord (North bus station) connection with Autogara Sud (South bus station) 10 str. Studenților – str. Miorița 12 str. Ion Dumeniuc – str. Alexei Mateevici 13 str. Ion Dumeniuc – str. Dokuceaev connection with Autogara Nord (North bus station) 16 Beton Armat Association – str. Alexei Mateevici 17 Autogara Sud Vest – Gara connection with Chisinau railway station connection with Autogara Sud (South bus station) 20 Trolleybus depot 2 – str. Vasilii Dokuceaev connection with Chisinau railway station 21 str. Mesterul Manole– șos. Balcani 22 șos. Balcani – Grădina Botanică 23 str. Ion Dumeniuc – parcul "La izvor" 24 str. Ion Dumeniuc – str. Mioriţa 25 str. Ceucari – str. Alexei Mateevici 26 str. Ceucari – str. Ion Dumeniuc 27 str. Ceucari – str. Ion Creangă 28 str. Ceucari – Trolleybus depot 2 29 Universitatea Agrară – parcul "Ștefan cel Mare" 30 Aeroportul Internațional Chișinău – Piata Marii Adunari Nationale connection with Chișinău International Airport 32 str. Alexei Mateevici– or. Stăuceni Suburban route to Stăuceni town 33 Universitatea de Medicina – or. Durlești 34 str. Tighina – Trușeni Suburban route to Trușeni village 35 str.Vasile Alecsandri – or. Durlești 36 Teatrul National Mihai Eminescu – or. Ialoveni Suburban route to Ialoveni town 37 str. Constantin Negruzzi – Bubueci Suburban route to Bubueci village 38 str. Alba Iulia – str. Burebista

+Closed lines6str. Studenților - or. Durlești11str. Studenților - Parcul "La Izvor"14str. Studenților - str. Alba-Iulia15bd. Dacia - str. Ion Pelivan18Parcul "Alunelul" - bd. Dacia19str. Studenților - bd. Dacia31Teatrul licurici - or. Sîngera

Fleet

Current fleet The fleet consists mainly of the various modification of popular low-floor trolleybus BKM-321 manufactured by Belkommunmash in Belarus and it's Moldovan analogue RTEC 62321 equipped by Moldovan electronics. Chișinău is the second-largest current user of this model, after Minsk (and Moscow in past). In addition, the network also operates by 5 articulated vehicles RTEC 62433 (BKM-433), some Škoda 24Tr, articulated Van Hool AG300T and Polish Solaris Trollino 18. All trolleybuses Škoda, Van Hool and Solaris were purchased used as dismissed in Swiss, Latvia and Estonia. Model Total / Active / Scrapped BKM-321 (passenger) 94 / 88 / 0BKM-321 (service vehicles)4 / 4 / 0BKM-321021 / 0 / 0 RTEC 62321M2 60 / 60 / 0 RTEC 62321M1 103 / 96 / 0 RTEC 6232100DM3 50 / 50 / 0 Škoda 14TrM 42 / 0 / 13 ZiU-682V variants 381 / 2 / 376 Škoda 24Tr Irisbus Citelis 1B 41 / 31 / 0 YuMZ T2 22 / 0 / 21 ZiU-682G variants 61 / 3 / 55 ZiU-683V01 7 / 0 / 5 BKM-433 Vitovt Max II 5 / 5 / 0 Solaris Trollino II 18m AC 10 / 10 / 0 Solaris Trollino II 18m Ganz 28 / 27 / 0 BKM-213 2 / 0 / 0 RTEC 624201M1 1 / 1 / 0 VMZ-5298.00 (VMZ-375) 3 / 0 / 2 YuMZ T1 4 / 0 / 3 Solaris Trollino III 18m AC12 / 12 / 0 Solaris Trollino III 12m AC14 / 6 / 0 Solaris Trollino II 12m Ganz8 / 0 / 0Van Hool AG300-T9 / 7 / 0APTS Phileas Trolley VDL2 / 0 / 0KTG(Kyiv-1 (service vehicle)5 / 1 / 1MTB-82d59 / 1 / 58ZiU-514 / 1 / 13Informbusiness EV203 (experimental)1 / Unknown / UnknownMaZ-203T (vehicle kit)1 / 0 / 0Škoda 21tr (transferred to Szeged, Hungary in 2000)0 / 0 / 0ROCAR 312E (transferred to another city, current location and status is unknown)0 / 0 / 0ZiU-682B12 / 0 / 11 (possibly 12 scrapped, but this is currently unconfirmed)ZiU-682UG1 / 0 / 0 (also likely 1 scrapped, but this is also unconfirmed)

In 2021, two trolleybuses built by the now-defunct Dutch manufacturer APTS (Advanced Public Transport Systems), to its Phileas design, were acquired secondhand: A 2011 prototype for a planned new busway system in Pescara, Italy, and a 2014 prototype (with doors on both sides) for the Metromare busway then under construction in Rimini, Italy. Neither ever entered service on the systems for which they had been purchased, and eventually they were sold to a dealer in secondhand vehicles. They were given fleet numbers 1001 and 1002 in Chișinău, and No. 1001 entered service in June 2022.

Past fleet

In past in Chișinău operated the Soviet-built ZiU-5 and ZiU-9, Czech Škoda 14Tr and Ukrainian-built trolleybuses YuMZ-T2. There were also 2 articulated BKM-213 in service (operated since 2005 until 2025) and several articulated ZiU-683. Now all these vehicles are dismissed. Some of them are used like company service vehicles or museum vehicles.

Managing company and Depots All trolleybuses in Chișinău are managed by Municipal Company RTEC (Regia Transport Electric Chișinău/Chișinău Electric Transport Managing Company). There 3 trolleybus depots in the city and one special car service brach for repairing of vehicles. - Trolleybus depot 1 - located in Buiucani Administrative District. The Headquarter of RTEC is situated here.; - Trolleybus depot 2 - was built in Botanica Administrative District - a great resident and industrial area; - Trolleybus depot 3, built in 1985 - the newest one. Located in Ciocana Administrative District. - Repair Service - located very closed to the Depot 1. Occupies territory of ex tram depot.

Tickets, prices and payment terms Every vehicle has a fare collector who sells single-ride tickets valid for this particular ride only. Alternatively, one can purchase a monthly ticket, valid for a calendar month. A single-ride ticket costs (since September '22) 6 MDL, and the price of the monthly pass is 234 MDL. There are also: monthly ticket for scholars and students – 70 MDL, ticket for 15 days – 100 MDL, monthly ticket for students with social privileges – 70 MDL, monthly ticket for economic agents – 320 MDL. Since may 2026, the ticket prices are 7 MDL. This choice has led to rteC getting a lot of backlash.

Backlash and drama After rteC has increased the prices to 7 MDL in May 2026, many people are not very happy with this decision.

In summer 2026, people became more furious because many trolleybus in Chisinau aren't equipped to withstand the heat in the summer and sometimes the trolleybuses are very full.

References

External links

Regia Transport Electric Chisinau Facebook Page