6 September 2011 marks exactly 110 years since the day the first tram operated in Ljubljana, replacing horse-drawn carriages and coaches.

Subsequently the trams themselves were replaced, first by trolleybuses and then buses.

At the very outset the city public transport company had 14 trams and 53 staff (16 conductors, 16 drivers, 2 senior conductors, 15 maintenance staff, an engineering manager, a supervising controller, an assistant manager and a valet). The total investment amounted to 1,026,718.39 krone.

The news about the opening of the tramway system published in the Slovenec newspaper of 7 September 1901 read as follows: “This morning, electric trams fulfilled their purpose and began scheduled services. The streetcars are working very smoothly. As with any novelty, the trams are arousing great interest. Naturally, the trams today have been almost always full. In addition, with this system, street life has been acquired and been given a kind of cosmopolitan liveliness.”

The era of the tram was superseded on 26 July 1928 by bus transport in Ljubljana. The first six buses operated on routes between Ljubljana and Medno, Ljubljana-Medvode-Kranj, Ljubljana-Cerklje-Kranj and Vič to Črnuče. In 1930 the General Small Railway Company, due to losses incurred by the bus services, scrapped all routes except Vič to Črnuče. In 1931 the tram system was revived, running initially to Šiška, then to Vič a month later and later still to Šentvid. The trams had a uniform appearance, painted green and white with the Ljubljana dragon emblem on the external side. The number of passengers grew surprisingly quickly in the next few years. Unfortunately, soon an economic crisis arose and people once again preferred to walk or cycle.

Due to much-needed restoration, in 1937 the (then) General Small Railway Company became a city business. In 1938 the city authorities built a new tram route to Žale, extended the line to Moste and from Dolenjski kolodvor to Rakovnik, renovated the Dolenjska line, bought new trams and manufactured some in their own workshops. Only with these connections did the tramway system begin to operate successfully. During and after the war the tramway once more experienced a period of recession as there were no funds available for its maintenance. The trams were worn out and the tracks badly maintained. However, there were ever increasing numbers of passengers. In 1949, demands began to be heard for the expansion and modernisation of city public transport. The first trolleybus service operated to Ježica. Other tram routes were replaced by buses.

1958 saw the last tram journey in Ljubljana. After two phases of reconstruction, the main parts of the city were linked with each other by modern public transport. In these days, the most appropriate thing for Ljubljana was that public transport services ran from the city centre to all the suburbs such as Šentvid, Vič, Ježica, Rudnik, Moste and Žale.

City public transport has been constantly evolving ever since, acquiring new lines and bringing in yellow lanes. The last trolleybuses ran in 1971 when they were entirely replaced by buses.

Their advantage was being independent of electric power lines, so services could be quickly changed and adapted, they were equipped with modern radio communications and payment of fares by tokens was introduced.

The city public transport company has seen many name changes over the years: initially it was ‘Allgemeine Kleinbahn Gesellschaft’ (the Small Railway Company, later the General Small Railway Company) and subsequently renamed ‘the Street Electric Railway’ ‘the Electric Street Railway’ ‘Ljubljana Transport’, ‘Viator’, ‘Integral’ and lastly ‘the Ljubljana Public Transport Public Company – LPP d.o.o.’.

Today, Ljubljana Public Transport – LPP d.o.o., whose buses carry up to 150,000 passengers a day, boasts modern low-floor buses with integrated software that includes connecting the bus to a tracking system, an electronically-controlled payment system, air conditioning, interior displays, digital screens, crime-prevention cameras and equipment for people with special needs.

JP LPP, d.o.o.