Ten trolleybuses involved in road accidents in Chisinau over a month

Ten of the new trolleybuses that started to run on routes in Chisinau a month ago have been involved in traffic accidents, one of which serious. Mayor of Chisinau Dorin Chirtoaca instructed the head of the Electric Transport Company to coach the trolleybus drivers so as to avoid similar cases in the future, Info-Prim Neo reports. “If such a situation persists, every trolleybus will be involved in a traffic accident at least once a year. The traffic participants do not care about my ‘children’. The authorities argue, while the people do what they want and go over the trolleybuses” said Dorin Chirtoaca. According to the head of the Electric Transport Company Gheorghe Morgoci, three of the ten road accidents happened through the trolleybus drivers’ fault, while the rest through the fault of other participants in the traffic. The most serious accident occurred in Botanica district on October 24. The trolleybus is to be repaired at a cost of about €10,000. The costs will be covered by the insurance company. A specialist from Minsk arrived in Chisinau to assess the state of the trolleybus. The parts needed to repair it will be soon delivered to Chisinau. The Chisinau City Hall bought 102 trolleybuses from the Belarusian factory Belkommunmash within a project to modernize the public transport, which is financed by the EBRD, EIB and the European Union. Under an agreement reached by the City Hall and the factory, new trolleybuses will be assembled in Chisinau from next spring.