30 new articulated buses roll between Budapest and suburbia

60 of the same Mercedes model serve large rural cities, including Győr and Székesfehérvár

The suburban bus fleet in and around Budapest has been expanded with new, air-conditioned, low-floor buses purchased entirely from state funds. 20 of the new blue-coloured Mercedes-Benz Conecto Gs buses have been gradually available on the Volánbusz network since the summer. With the last 10 of the lot arriving this week, all 30 articulated vehicles will be rolling from Pécel, Gyál and Szigetszentmiklós to Budapest and back from the beginning of November.

Integrating bus and railway networks

The new acquisition will ensure a safer, quicker and more comfortable journey for commuters living in the cheaper suburbs of Budapest and working in the capital, as well as for residents of Budapest's 17th, 18th and 21st districts. The new Mercedes buses will be available on lines that show how closely state-run agglomeration and capital-run local public transport are integrated, commented Dávid Vitézy, CEO of the Budapest Development Center, quoted by the MÁV (Hungarian Railways operator) website.

The new low-floor buses are easily accessible with a wheelchair or pram - similar to the Mercedes Conecto G articulation buses already operated by BKV and VT Arriva in Budapest. The vehicles, which offer 37 seats and 76 standing spaces, are more spacious than before. 

The six-cylinder, 360-horsepower diesel engines also meet the EURO 6D environmental standard, thus helping to cut emissions. In this regard Róbert Homolya, President and CEO of MÁV, said: “The European Union’s climate policy goal of reducing CO2 emissions from transport to zero by 2050 can only be achieved by developing efficient, sustainable, competitive public transport. Since the integration of Volánbusz and MÁV in July, we have been working hard to coordinate the two public transport sectors, and our goal is to create a tariff community by 2022. We want to provide 800 million passengers a year with cheap, competitive, more attractive public transport...”

Although the buses are made in Turkey, additional safety, diagnostic and passenger information systems have been installed in them at the Hungarian supplier’s premises in Debrecen. In addition to the 30 blue Mercedes buses serving the capital and its agglomeration, Volánbusz bought 60 of the same model for large rural cities, such as Győr and Székesfehérvár, painted in yellow, white and gray.

Future commitments

Zoltán Pafféri, President and CEO of Volánbusz Zrt., said that with the launch of the 30 new buses, more than half of the 56-vehicle articulated fleet in the capital agglomeration will be renewed, reducing the average age of the fleet to almost 6 and a half years. By the end of 2021, Volánbusz plans to acquire another 574 new, two- and three-axle, diesel-powered, intercity buses.

Depending on how the corona crisis unfolds, the rejuvenation of Hungary’s bus fleet may prove to be a race against time. Under the government’s Green Bus Programme, from 2022 only emission-free e-buses can be put into operation in cities with more than 25 000 inhabitants.