Tram and trolleybus service has resumed in Odesa, but was suspended due to an attack by the Russian Federation

In Odesa, on the morning of September 2, public transit service resumed on a number of tram and trolleybus routes. The municipal enterprise noted that service is gradually returning to normal.

This was reported by the press office of the municipal enterprise “Odesmiskelektrotrans.”

Trams are running on routes No. 7, No. 10, No. 13, and No. 27. Tram No. 7 connects the 11th stop on Lyustdorfskaya Road with Starosinnaya Square, and No. 10 connects Yitzhak Rabin Street with Starosinnaya Square.

Trolleybuses Nos. 7, 9, 10, and 12 are also running on the lines. Routes No. 7, No. 9, and No. 10 are currently operating on shortened routes to Pryvokzalna Square, while No. 12 is running its full route.

The company noted that electric vehicles continue to be deployed on the routes, so the situation may change.

However, the press office later reported that following an overnight enemy attack, the power grid cannot handle the load, and as a result, electric transit has been temporarily suspended.

In late August, the municipal enterprise“Odessmiskelektrotrans” announced that tram routes would be altered due to substation outages. Trolleybus routes were also adjusted. 

In addition, the number of social buses in Odesa was reduced. More trolleybuses and trams were put into service on the routes, duplicating some of the bus routes. It turned out that some of the routes overlapped with routes already served by trams and trolleybuses.

This duplication has also caused problems with private carriers—they complain that they are failing to meet their revenue targets due to competition with public transportation.

City council members questioned the wisdom of this approach and proposed, instead, using social buses to compete with minibuses.

Анна Літман