One the move: A deep dive into Transport efficiency

Bkk (Budapesti Közlekedési Kozpont) operates on 15 trolleybus lines, 33 Tram lines and over 200 bus lines with a further 40-night bus lines and 4 metro lines. I personally love the transport system in Budapest. The scarlet trolleybuses, the sleek blue buses, and the yellow trams weaving their way through the streets of Budapest on a tight schedule. What’s not to love? Not to mention, the route taken by each vehicle is beautiful: the lovely tram 2, and even the 61 that snakes through the foothills of District 2 to Huvosvolgy. Perhaps the 291-bus starting at the city centre (Nyugati Palyuadvar) and going to zugliget libego- the chairlift. But the question we’re really interested in: is it t Budapest hat efficient?  

The type of trams and buses that may pose a problem to efficiency 

In general, why would these vehicles be a problem? 

Mostly it would come down to the fact that these vehicles are aging. This means that breakdowns occur more frequently, parts are harder to source, and they become less clean. 

Trams 

There is only one type of tram that poses that much of an issue to bkk. And that is the charming Ganz CSMG. These Trams are 59 years old and still going more or less strong. But with age comes problems. Firstly, it’s harder to find parts for such an ageing tram, it may break down and will become less desirable for other lines. Such as the 56-line curves a lot and the type of wheels on the Ganz aren’t able to cope with it because it will rub away the metal.      

Buses  

The Volvo 7700 

The Volvo 7700 has been in service since the early 2000s. It was made in Sweden and was    vital to moving Budapest. But as newer buses have dominated the streets, more and more of these buses have been made redundant. The reason for this is because of their age, their engines have begun seizing up. You can still find the odd one around and the short version is on the line 39 bus to Kisvabhegy and Batthyány Ter M H. 

The Mrecedes-Benz O530 Citaro   

The Citaro has been in Budapest since 1999 and has played a big role in moving the capital. This bus in fact runs on my route (The 137) and is a bit rattly. Their 2 main problems would be unreliability and rust. If you put some thought into it, these ‘Citaros’ have sat at bus garages for about 24-25 years. In the rain or snow. So rust is beginning to get into cracks and make the buses wet and rattly. BKK purchased the Mercedes O530 because of its reliability but over the years their engine capability has depreciated.  

But it’s not all doom and gloom for efficiency. Here are some more positive things. 

New Trams 

With tram purchases in Budapest, 73 brand new CAFs were put into service until 2021. BKK ordered another 20 short and 5 long CAF trams in November 2022 and 26 short and 5 long trams (31 in total) in March 2023. Some of the vehicles will be assembled in Budapest (one of the bodies was delivered to Budapest in June) and some in Spain – such as the one that has just arrived. The renewed rolling stock will allow more low-floor trams to run on the lines where they already operate, so from the end of 2025 the number of comfortable, low-floor, air-conditioned trams will be further expanded on lines 1, 14, 42, 50 and 69, among others. 

With a total of 51 new vehicles in service, modern trams are planned to be available on lines 2, 23 and 24, as well as lines 51A and 62A, if the necessary EU funding is available. There have also been more improvements such as purchasing a fleet of Mercedes Connecto buses. 

But there are also some other buses that have recently come to Budapest. The ‘man city lions’ 

These buses are and were a replacement for the Ikarus 280. But the unfortunate thing is that these new trams and buses are a replacement for older and more charming buses and trams. I feel these older vehicles are more charming as they have older technology and have been in service longer than other newer vehicles. 

So, the verdict: is the Budapest Transport system efficient? 

I’ll be honest, if comparing the Budapest transport network to that of somewhere like London due to the fact that there is barely any funding from the government and that they don’t have a particularly new fleet the earliest tube train being from 2009. it easily outdoes them for efficiency. In general, it would be scored very highly for me despite having a slightly aging fleet. Regardless, aging vehicles have more character. For example, a fun fact is that the maker of the Ganz csmg deliberately made the tram so that each unit was 1 cm wider or thinner than the others. But you have to take into account that the efficiency of districts such as the outskirts of district 2 will have buses every ½ hour instead of perhaps every 7 minutes at somewhere like Deak Ferenc Ter. So, it does depend on where you live and what journeys you would take but... I think the Budapest Transport is efficient enough!