1973 military coup, the new Pinochet administration reduced funding for government-run public transit, and the two trolleybus systems both deteriorated quickly. ETCE abandoned its Santiago trolleybus system in the latter half of 1978. The Vetra trolleybuses had been less reliable and had all been scrapped by this time, but ETCE transferred its remaining Santiago Pullman trolleybuses to Valparaíso, where some were placed in service and the remainder provided a supply of parts to keep the others running. The Valparaíso system struggled to maintain its now-elderly vehicles and infrastructure with limited funds, but eventually succumbed, closing on 30 November 1981. However, a group of local businessmen interested in reviving the trolleybus service soon acquired the assets of the now-dissolved . On 26 April 1982 they formed a new company whose name intentionally used the same initials, (Electric Public Transport Company, Ltd.) (ETCE, again), and within two weeks had restored the service, using the same vehicles. Service continued to follow two routes, both connecting Barón with Aduana but alternatively via either Avenida Colón or Avenida Pedro Montt. The routes were not numbered. Fleet evolution For nearly 40 years, the fleet comprised solely Pullman-Standard trolleybuses, a combination of new-to-Valparaíso 1952-built Pullmans (the 700-series) and, from 1954 on, a number of ex-Santiago Pullmans, built in 1946–1948 (the 800-series). All had electrical propulsion equipment by General Electric. As of 1986, the total number of trolleybuses available for service was 23–24. Under a program started in late 1986 and continuing until 1989, ETCE rebuilt the bodies of some of its 800-series vehicles with more modern front ends and, in some cases, sides and backs also. The remaining 700-series vehicles were not rebuilt. Expansion generated by plans for Santiago In 1989 ETCE announced plans to build a new trolleybus system in Santiago. For this purpose and to augment its Valparaíso fleet the company began to acquire trolleybuses secondhand from cities in Switzerland. The vehicles involved were being retired from service and replaced with new trolleybuses on their home systems, but while the vehicles were already 15–30 years old ETCE found this to be a relatively low-cost source of trolleybuses that had been well-maintained. The first such acquisitions were six articulated FBW trolleybuses from Zürich, built in 1959–1964. These arrived in Valparaíso in September 1991 and entered service there later that year. To operate the new Santiago system, ETCE created a subsidiary named (Santiago Trolleybus Company), or ETS.