The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is considering participating in a project for upgrading Odessa’s urban electric transport by providing a loan of up to EUR 8 million to the Odesgorelektrotrans utility for up to 12 years under guarantee from the Odessa city council. The Interfax Ukraine news agency reported this, citing the website of the city council.
According to the tripartite agreement on preparation of credit funds that was signed on Tuesday, 4 August, 45 new trolleybuses are to be bought with credit from the EBRD.
According to the report, there are plans to audit the project in the next two months with the aim of signing the financing agreement.
According to Odessa’s Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov, 100 of the 140 trolleybuses currently in operation have reached the end of their service lives, but the amount required for purchase of 45 trolleybuses is currently too high for the city budget.
In dialogue with representatives of the EBRD, the Odessa mayor said that the city plans to reform its transportation system: increase Odesgorelektrotrans’ volume of transportation by bus, review the city’s route network, create a unified dispatcher service, and organize the movement of all modes of public transport based on a timetable. In addition, the city plans to introduce "electronic tickets" and online public transport information.
According to experts, the last time Odessa bought new trolleys was in 2009, when 16 new low-floor trolleybuses appeared on the city’s streets. Odessa also bought 13 used trolleybuses from the Czech Republic in 2013.
The Bogdan Corporation, the Ukrainian-German joint venture Elektrontrans (Lvov), the LAZ holding, and the Etalon Corporation produce modern trolleybuses in Ukraine.
