Image: Wikimedia Commons

trolleybus

Electric bus that draws power from dual overhead wires

Also known as trolley coach · trackless trolley · trackless tram · trolley · trolley bus

Instance of: bus type
Subclass of: electric bus
, electric vehicle

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws power from dual overhead lines using spring-loaded or pneumatically raised trolley poles. Two wires, and two trolley poles, are required to complete the electrical circuit. This differs from a tram or streetcar, which normally uses the track as the return path, needing only one wire and one pole. They are also distinct from other kinds of electric buses, which usually rely on batteries. Power is most commonly supplied as 600-volt direct current in older systems and 750-volts in newer systems, but there are exceptions.

Overview

All data

53 statements · 17% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Unicode character: 🚎
Has use: passenger transport
MCN code: 8702.40.10
Has list: list of trolleybus systems
Native label: trolleybus
Service life: 25 years
Different from: Obus criterion used: descriptive page and disambiguation page have to be in different items · applies to name of subject: Obus
trackless train
Members / parts: driving school trolleybus

On other databases

35 identifiers linking trolleybus across the web's reference databases

Data quality

statements

17%

externally sourced

Source last edited October 21, 2026. AIDb refreshes this page daily.

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AIDb. (2026). trolleybus (Q5639). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/trolleybus-Q5639