It all began in 1888…
… with a first tourist tram
1888
The Riviera is a key region when it comes to tourism and the history of public transport. It was here that Switzerland’s first electric tramway was built on 2 May 1888, responding to the demands and growing requirements of the tourist industry at the time. A precursor in the country, the Vevey-Montreux-Chillon VMC tramway is also the second in Europe to run on electricity. A real jewel of technology which, at the time, was considered a luxury means of transport. It quickly established itself as the most formidable creation on the Vaud Riviera.
1903 - 1912
In parallel with the VMC line, the Chillon-Byron-Villeneuve tramway company (CVB) was created in 1903 by various notables and elected officials of the region. In this way, the Vevey-Chillon line was extended to Villeneuve. In December 1912, the VMC line became the VMCV, connecting Vevey to Villeneuve in a single line and avoiding passengers having to transfer at Chillon.
1938
In 1938, the Société Electrique Vevey-Montreux (SEVM), which operated the trams on these lines, was asked by the municipalities of the region to carry out a study to replace the trams with trolleybuses. In contrast to cars, whose technology was improving rapidly and whose speed was increasing, the tram seemed to be going ever more slowly. It also took up too much space on the road and could not brake in time when a car came at high speed in front of it. This made it dangerous, especially as in many places the VMCV tram changed sides of the road and was facing car traffic.
1955 - 1958
Finally, in 1955, the Société Electrique Vevey-Montreux was granted a concession to operate trolleybuses. Work began immediately on the installation of a contact line between Vevey and Villeneuve. 1957 marked the start of trolleybus service, with the first link between Villeneuve and the Place du Marché in Montreux on 18 April and the first link between the Place du Marché and the VMCV depot in Clarens on 19 July. On the strength of these conclusive tests, the SEVM replaced its trams with a fleet of 17 trolleybuses on 1 April 1958. During the following decade, several bus lines were put into service and the Vaud Riviera was soon entirely served by SEVM public transport.
2008
26 June 2008 marked the official creation of VMCV SA as we know it today. The limited company left the Romande Energie group, of which it had been a part since its inception, and passed into the hands of ten communes of the Riviera.
2010
Over the following years, several bus routes were put into service and/or their operation was modified in a constant effort to improve services and customer satisfaction. However, VMCV SA remained isolated on the Riviera, seeing limited potential synergies with other public transport companies in the Canton. Therefore, on 12 December 2010, VMCV joined the Communauté Tarifaire Vaudoise (CTV), commonly known as Mobilis.
2016 - 2019
As the “Riviera Chablais” inter-cantonal hospital project became clearer in Rennaz, the VMCV had to consider solutions for connecting to the municipality. In addition, the trolleybus fleet inaugurated in 1995 needed to be renewed after more than 20 years of service. VMCV then showed innovation by opting for a clever mix of electricity and batteries. The acquisition of a new trolleybus fleet was initiated in 2016 and the company chose the Exqui.City model from the Belgian manufacturer VanHool. This model was to enable the company to run between Vevey and Villeneuve thanks to the overhead electric line built in the 1950s, and then to switch to a battery system for the Villeneuve-Rennaz section. Thus, on 26 August 2019, the historic 201 VMCV line was extended to Rennaz, serving the newly inaugurated Riviera-Chablais Hospital. A few months later, on 5 December 2019, it was the turn of the brand-new fleet of 16 trolleybuses to be inaugurated with great enthusiasm.
