Experimental buses with extended autonomous range have been well-received in Vitebsk

Experimental buses with extended autonomous range have been well-received in Vitebsk.

Electric vehicles are more relevant for Belarus than ever before. This is confirmed by the Decree "On Stimulating the Use of Electric Vehicles" recently signed by the President. Another development vector in this area is passenger transport. For example, since the beginning of this year, two experimental trolleybuses with extended autonomous range have been operating in Vitebsk. An articulated "accordion" design, 18 meters in length, a rocket-shaped cabin… Beautiful! But the main advantage of the new "Belkommunmash" model, according to its driver Sergey Marchuk, is its ability to travel 15 kilometers without wires – a considerable distance for urban public transport!

Convenient, Mobile, Rational

Sergey Nikolaevich arrives at the АКСМ 43300D Vitovt II trolleybus 15 minutes before his shift – wearing a shirt and tie:

— It's a respectable vehicle, and the driver should look the part. It represents the city, after all!

By 2020, Vitebsk had 69 trolleybuses. Of these, 4 had extended autonomous range and standard seating. When the new vehicles, capable of carrying 150 passengers, arrived, route No. 12 was opened in the regional center. It connects the railway station with the Bilevo residential area, which lacks overhead contact lines. There, Sergey Marchuk explains, the strengths of the new model were fully demonstrated:

— Previously, if there was a break in the line, you had to disembark passengers and wait for repairs. Today, the trolleybus, equipped with an electric battery, can travel even where there are no wires. While the vehicle is connected to the wires, the battery charges and subsequently allows for autonomous movement. Half of my 14-kilometer route is covered as if I were driving an electric bus.— And not just at charging stations! In Vitebsk, for example, travel from Stroiteley Avenue to the Bilevo microdistrict will soon be possible. Building a contact network for a conventional trolleybus there (poles, wires, traction substations) would have cost 8 million rubles.
. But, having hybrid trolleybuses, we did not do this, and part of the saved money was used to develop our enterprise.

Technology is not a hindrance to creativity

Interestingly, Marchuk became a trolleybus driver by chance. As a child, he moved with his parents from Ukraine to Shumilinsky district. After graduating from a cultural and educational college, he worked as the head of the Leskovichi rural club. He hosted discos. He dreamed of becoming an artist. But in the 1990s, when he moved to Vitebsk to his wife, he could only get a job as a mechanic at the tram depot:

— There I learned that there were driver courses. The training is not much different from driving school. It's just important to remember that a trolleybus driver drives on two roads: the lower one is asphalt, the upper one is the contact network with "horns". I have already gotten used to getting up at 3:50 AM over 20 years, strong coffee helps to cheer up. As for the dream of the stage, it has not disappeared anywhere. My wife, two sons and I love singing karaoke. I play the guitar, accordion, and balalaika. I'm good at impressions. Once I even wanted to participate in the TV show "Make the comedian laugh", but it didn't work out due to time constraints. By the way, when experimental trolleybuses were presented in Vitebsk on New Year's Eve, I dressed up as Santa Claus.Sergey Nikolaevich is confident that talents should be demonstrated and developed:

— Last year, my neighbors saw that I had painted a panda on the wall of the first floor and asked me to decorate all the entrances with similar compositions. As a result, our house became a prize-winner for landscaping in the Pervomaisky district. I love my dacha, fishing, and traveling! I have studied the history of Vitebsk. If they told me to conduct an excursion while driving along the route, I think I could handle it.

Foundation for the Future

Another experimental hybrid trolleybus from "Belkommunmash" is expected in Vitebsk at the end of March. In addition, Sergey Medvedev said, the enterprise has acquired 10 trolleybuses with increased autonomous range manufactured by the MAZ plant:

— They are not as large, but because the battery is on the roof, they are quite spacious. When the renovated Polotsk overpass is opened in the city, we will definitely launch a route from Bilevo to Tiraspol. The absence of a contact network on Leningradskaya Street will not be a problem. In my opinion, the trolleybus is the most promising mode of transport: in terms of environmental friendliness, cost ofservice. Considering that Belarus will soon have its own nuclear power plant, the future definitely belongs to such vehicles.

Vitebsk trolleybus route No. 12 is one of those where you can pay for your trip using a smartphone via QR code. Along with this, from April 1, 2020, traditional ticket punches and paper tickets are intended to be used on trams and trolleybuses in the regional center. The design of the tickets featuring a cornflower, the symbol of the "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" festival, has already been developed. They will soon go on sale. In the future, "GorElektroTrans of Vitebsk" intends to dispense with the services of conductors.