Um oss · about
The Authority & the island
Avelis Transit Authority — Trensa Avelis — has carried the island since 1 May 1957. This is who we are, and the city we serve.
The city of Avelis
Avelis is a crescent island in the Western Reach, the drowned rim of a volcano that last stirred eight thousand years ago. Its two arms cradle the Port Dara basin — one of the finest natural harbours in the archipelago — and the caldera ridge of Tor Kael (212 m) rises behind the old town, crowned today by the Skywatch observatory.
Some 412,000 people live on the main island, with another 3,100 on the fishing isle of Sorra and a small keepers' community on Vehl, whose lighthouse has guided shipping since 1698. The climate is mild and maritime: long light summers, soft wet winters, and the famous silver autumn fog the Avelin call talm, which the ferries take in their stride.
The local language is Avelin, a language isolate shaped by eight centuries of visiting fleets. Under the Bilingual Signage Charter of 1988, every station, line and notice carries its Avelin name alongside English — you will see both everywhere on this site, exactly as you will on the network.
Facts & figures
The fleet: eighteen six-car trains on the M1, fourteen four-car trains on the M2, eight low-floor trams on the T1, ten on the T2, and three harbour ferries — MV Sol, MV Mar and MV Kael — each carrying 380 passengers and forty bicycles.
A short history
- 1887The Avelis Harbour Board begins steam ferry crossings of the basin — the island's first scheduled public transport.
- 1908The Crown Hall funicular opens, climbing Tor Kael in four minutes. It runs for sixty years; its winding house still stands at Vakt Kael.
- 1957The Island Assembly founds the Avelis Transit Authority on 1 May, uniting the tramways, the ferry and the cliff lifts under one public board.
- 1974The M1 Sun Line opens from Norr Fyr to Surr Halm — the first metro tunnel beneath the caldera ridge, and the island's defining post-war work.
- 1988The Bilingual Signage Charter makes Avelin and English equal on every sign, map and announcement.
- 1989The M2 Sea Line opens through the immersed harbour tunnel, joining Eastport to the western beaches in nineteen minutes.
- 2003The T2 Beach Line reaches Strand Surr, completing the coastal tramway first drawn in 1931.
- 2016The Kro Card launches; paper tickets begin their long farewell.
- 2022Vehl pier is rebuilt for the new ferries, cutting the crossing to the lighthouse isle to thirty-two minutes.
Accessibility & assistance
19 of our 23 stations are step-free from street to platform, including every interchange and both outer-island piers. The exceptions are Merc Kro · Crown Market, Pont Va · Waterbridge, Vess Dara · Old Docks, Tor Kael · Sky Tor — all on our register for lift installation by 2030.
All trams have level boarding and a dedicated wheelchair space; metro platforms have raised boarding humps at the third door; ferries board by ramp at all tides. Audio and visual stop announcements run in Avelin and English on every service.
Travel assistance can be booked up to 22:00 the day before: call 04 5550 1800 and a staff member will meet you at any station, see you aboard, and phone ahead to your destination. Companions of registered disabled travellers ride free.
Assistance dogs travel free everywhere, including the ferry saloon. Large-print and audio timetables are available from Trensa House on request.
Governance
Trensa Avelis is a public authority answerable to the Island Assembly's Transport Committee. Fares are set each January by the Assembly on the Authority's advice; the network runs without operating subsidy for its metro and tram services, while the lifeline ferry to Sorra and Vehl is supported by the Isles Fund. Our offices, control room and lost property office are at Trensa House, 1 Harbour Steps, Port Dara, Avelis AV1 2TD.