| Tours trolleybus system | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Vétra VBRh in TRT colors. | |||
| Overview | |||
| Owner | Syndicat des transports de la région tourangelle (TRT) | ||
| Locale | Tours, France | ||
| Transit type | Trolleybus | ||
| Number of lines | 3 | ||
| Operation | |||
| Began operation | October 5, 1949 | ||
| Ended operation | June 30, 1968 | ||
| |||
The Tours trolleybus system is a former urban public transport network that was operated with trolleybuses in the French city of Tours and three of its neighboring communes. The network extended to the west to La Riche, to the north to Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire, and to the east to Saint-Pierre-des-Corps.
The trolleybus network, comprising three lines, commenced operation in early October 1949. The trolleybus network replaced a portion of the former Tours tramway network, which had been reorganized at the beginning of the 20th century, extensively damaged by World War II, and out of service since September 14, 1949. Other lines were served by buses. The trolleybus network underwent a period of gradual expansion and high frequency of service in the early 1960s. By 1963, trolleybuses accounted for over 60% of public transport users in Tours. At its peak, the network had at most 22 vehicles. However, the network was rapidly dismantled beginning in 1964 and ceased operations on June 30, 1968. Following this, urban public transport in the Tours metropolitan area was provided solely by buses (until 2013, when a new tram system opened).
Tours' decision to implement a trolleybus system following the conclusion of World War II and subsequently terminate it two decades later was not an isolated occurrence. A comparable sequence of events transpired in approximately twenty major French cities during a similar time frame.