Program series about 100 year-old Hungarian bus transportation

Budapest (MTI) – Program series about the celebration of the 100 year-old Hungarian bus transportation has opened on Heroes’ Square. After the event, a convoy consisting eleven different buses went through the route of the first line from 1915, and after that a memorial plaque was placed at the Bajcsy-Zsilinszky stop of the 105 bus.

On Heroes’ Square, Balazs Szeneczey Deputy Mayor responsible for urban development called autobus industry the most important element of the Budapest public transport at his press conference, which was held in front of the eleven buses representing the different eras of the metropolitan bus service started on March 1^st 1915.

He highlighted that more than 40% of the public transport users get on the more than 1300 buses operating on 277 services every day, MTI said.

Speaking of the state of the buses, he said: drivers sat in coats in the old Ikarus buses 4-5 years ago and some vehicles had to been run all night in order to be able to start in the morning. In contrast, there are 550 hardly-used or new buses bought in recent years, and by 2018, all members of the fleet will be low-floor vehicles – Balazs Szeneczey stressed.

He cited the example of the 28 hybrid buses, which will be operate in the next months and they can achieve a more than 35%-reduction of emission. In addition, an electric-powered fleet’s entry of the service is also planned; they will operate in the Castle and on the Margitsziget – he said.

The Deputy Mayor has summarized: they hope that on the 125th anniversary of the start of the metropolitan bus service the 2010’s will be remembered as “at long last bus transport became competitive in Budapest”.

He continued: we can say that BKV is not a swear word like in between 2006 and 2010 but a prosperous company which was not dependent on loans in recent years. I think BKV can become competitive in every aspect, if we have resources to buy more modern buses in the framework of leasing – he added.