The Moscow government has abruptly put to an end the city’s trolleybus network, in place since 1933. The capital’s trolleybuses, powered by electricity transmitted through cables to the car’s insect-like antenna, were part of the world’s largest trolley network – over 100 routes. But they have been done in by Mayor Sergei Sobyanin’s drive to replace them with electric buses.
In reality, most of the routes discontinued at the end of August are now served by regular buses running on diesel. The cables that fed the army of trolleybuses were gradually dismantled, first in the city center, then throughout the rest of the city.
Many Muscovites were against the change, particularly the idea of replacing electric transport with vehicles that add further pollution to the congested streets. Several protests against the mayor’s anti-trolleybus policies went unheeded. The mayor is not known for listening to dissenting voices.
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