palace cities

The article addresses one of the important issues of the existence of palace towns in the 19th century, highlighting the initial stage of public transport development in these settlements. In relation to the period under consideration, the author recognizes stagecoaches and omnibuses owned by companies or private entrepreneurs as such. The article notes that until the 1830s, multi-seat carriages operated only for trips between the capital, St. Petersburg and the nearest residences, Tsarskoye Selo and Peterhof. The main player in this field was the Society of the Initial Establishment of Stagecoaches, founded in 1820, which worked in both directions. At the same time, it also had local competitors. The opening of the Tsarskoye Selo Railway in the autumn of 1837 created serious competition for the Company, but entrepreneurs responded promptly, opening in 1838 a service between Gatchina and Tsarskoye Selo to replace the route from the capital, which had become unprofitable. In the following decade and a half, several new entrepreneurs appeared in the sphere of stagecoach service, organizing trips along the already mentioned routes St. Petersburg — Tsarskoye Selo, St. Petersburg — Peterhof and Tsarskoye Selo — Gatchina, and opening a service between Tsarskoye Selo and Pavlovsk, as well as intracity transportation, in Tsarskoye Selo to the railway station, and in Peterhof — to the steamship pier. The progressive development of railway service by the 1850s increasingly complicated the existence of stagecoach service. At the same time, officials, on the one hand, tightened the conditions for entrepreneurs, ordering the Gatchina — Tsarskoye Selo line to synchronize the frequency of arrival and departure of crews with the train schedule, and on the other hand, they tried to prevent the complete ruin of already operating entrepreneurs, limiting competition in the conditions of unstable passenger flow, which did not guarantee significant income even for the only transporter.