page_title: Trolleybus usage by country
section_title: Chile
hierarchical_section_title: Trolleybus usage by country / South America / Chile
caption_attribution_description: English: Trolleybuses in Valparaíso, Chile, at the Barón terminus. On the left are an ex-Zürich FBW-built trolleybus (No. 504; license plate DR*5669) and an ex-Geneva Berna-built trolleybus (No. 612; license plate KN*3779), and lining the street in the background are Pullman-Standard trolleybuses built in 1946-48 (the last two in this line have side windows rebuilt in the late 1980s) and still in regular service in 2020.
context_page_description: As of 2012 there were around 300 cities or metropolitan areas where trolleybuses were operated, and more than 500 additional trolleybus systems have existed in the past.
  The following are summary notes about current and past trolleybus operation, by country, for every country in which trolleybuses have operated.
context_section_description: Valparaíso, one of the largest cities of Chile, has the only trolleybus service currently, and it is managed by a private company, Trolebuses de Chile S.A. (formerly Empresa de Transportes Colectivos Eléctricos). The single route is numbered 802 in the regional transport scheme and is about 5 km in length. The fleet is a distinctive mix of old American, Swiss and Chinese vehicles. The most famous vehicles are the Pullman-Standards, built in 1946–52, which are the oldest trolleybuses still in service anywhere in the world. They were declared national monuments in 2003. The company has faced fierce competition from bus operators, and has come close to bankruptcy a few times, but many Valparaíso inhabitants feel an emotional link to the service, and vigorously defend the trolleybuses.  During one such crisis in May 2007, even the country's president, Michelle Bachelet, expressed support for keeping the historic system running. In October 2007, the Chilean government's National Monuments Council extended the national monument status to include also the system's operations infrastructure (overhead wires, support poles and substations).
  Trolleybuses operated in Santiago from 1947–1978 and 1991–1994.
caption: Various trolleybuses in Valparaíso, Chile
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