Trolleybuses in Portugal

Trolleybuses were first introduced in Portugal by SMC in Coimbra in February 1947 and used Saurer, Sunbeam and BUT single-deckers that were all in service by 1954. Further deliveries from the UK consisted of ten BUTs and six Sunbeams. The fleet was largely rebodied, but in 1984 another twenty Efacec-Caetano thirty-seven seater trolleybuses began to be delivered. The second Portuguese trolleybus operator was SMB in Braga, which opened in May 1964, and the final trolleybus system to open in Portugal was Oporto. This was opened by STCP with twenty single-deckers in 959, augmented by a further six BUTs four years later. With a fleet renewal including fifty Lancia double-deckers, at its largest, the Oporto trolleybus fleet reached a total of 126 vehicles.

With a wealth of previously unpublished photographs, David Harvey tells the story of Portugal’s trolleybuses.