Vilniaus Viešasis Transportas (Vilnius Public Transport, VVT) on 15 May signed a contract to purchase 91 Škoda 32Tr low-floor trolleybuses from the Czech manufacturer for 52.3 million euros.

Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas said this is the largest-ever upgrade to the Vilnius public transport fleet.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and its partners have provided a loan of 38.23 million euros to VVT to help finance the purchase of the trolleybuses.

The EBRD is lending up to 30.58 million euros of its own funds, with a further 7.65 million euros coming from Taiwan’s International Cooperation and Development Fund. VVT has also secured a further 10 million euros under the Climate Change Program.

Darius Aleknavičius, CEO of VVT, told BNS that talks are currently underway with EBRD on the remaining funds.

The first new Škoda trolleybuses, which cost almost 575,000 euros each, are expected to reach the Lithuanian capital in late summer 2024, with the rest to be delivered in the first half of 2025.

This year, VVT will launch another tender for the purchase of 68 three-axle trolleybuses. This will bring the total number of new trolleybuses to 159 by 2026.

Compiled by the team of CzechTrade Baltics.
Source: LRT