In 1949, the comune of Modena decided to replace the city's tram network with a trolleybus system, believed to be more efficient and modern.

Conventional buses were starting to be seen as more flexible, at intersections as traffic became chaotic, and in enabling Modena's transport network to cover urban expansion without the need for new infrastructure.

The long sequence of closures was stopped, at least in part, by the so-called austerity, and the concomitant spread of ecological awareness.

However, to avoid excessively intensive bus traffic in the streets of Old Town, it was decided to divert the conventional buses onto the ring roads.

Less than a year later, on 15 June 1974, a further change took place, transforming line 7 and extending the EO shuttle bus service to the railway station.

At the end of the period of austerity, after the need to ensure high frequencies, the EW and NS shuttles could be deleted, and lines 6 and 7 reactivated.

The network was then stable for nearly two decades, because all of the investment funds of AMCM (absorbed in 1988 by ATCM) were directed, throughout the 1980s, to the renewal of the fleet of trolleybuses.

The Socimi trolleybuses were also fitted with auxiliary batteries permitting limited movement away from the overhead trolley wiring.

[4] The reopening of line 6 to trolleybuses followed on 13 November 2000,[1][5] now operating Sant'Anna – city centre – Via Forlì, bringing into use new wiring along Corso Canal Grande (in place of Via Farini) in the city centre[5] and extensions at both ends: from Sacca to Sant'Anna and from Viale Buon Pastore to Via Forlì.

)[7] In detail, in addition to the reconstruction of the two old lines 6-barrato and 7, the 1996–2000 construction programme including creation of the following new sections of trolleybus route from scratch: On 2 July 2007, route 7 was extended from the Hospital (Policlinico) east to Via Gottardi, partly running along private roads through the hospital grounds, but temporarily converted to motorbuses pending certification of the new wiring;[7] trolleybus service on the new extension was introduced on 8 October 2007.

[7] Effective 1 January 2012, a reorganization saw the replacement of Azienda Trasporti Collettivi e Mobilita (ATCM)IT by Società Emiliana Trasporti Autofiloviari S.p.A. (SETA)IT as the operator of all urban transit service in Modena..[9] In spring 2012, route 6 was extended a second time at its southern end, by about 250 metres (820 ft) from Via Forlì to Via Chinnici, along new streets built in 2011 to serve new apartment blocks.

Modena trolleybuses 06–07 were built by Viseon in 2009–10 and delivered in July 2010,[14] but then were returned to the factory for modifications, and did not finally enter service until 2013.

[11] Media related to Trolleybuses in Modena at Wikimedia Commons Where inline citations are absent, this article is based upon a translation of the Italian language version as at July 2011.