BKV

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BKV (Budapesti Közlekedési Zrt.; Mass Transport co. ltd. of Budapest – the abbreviation BKV stands for its earlier name Budapesti Közlekedési Vállalat; Mass Transport Company of Budapest) is the unified public transport company of the city of Budapest, the capital of Hungary.

Road vehicle operation

The city-owned BKV runs an extensive network of surface mass transportation, with a heavy emphasis on bus service. The uniformly dark blue coloured bus fleet includes 1200 diesel vehicles on 200 routes and 15 electric trolley bus lines. Night service is exclusively provided by buses. The articulated bus is a hallmark of Budapest, diesel and ETB bendy vehicles have been running since the late 1950s and still form the majority of BKV's fleet. BKV buses are ubiqitous, one or more are almost always in sight anywhere in the city and a large part of the population entirely depends on them for mobility.

In the recent years bus service has been increasingly plagued by frequent traffic jams as car use spreads and the narrow and congested streets of Budapest do not often allow for a separate right-of-way. Many motorists ignore bus lane markings, while few traffic lights fast-gate buses. The lamentable road conditions in Budapest incur continous, high vehicle maintenance costs and inconvenience for bus riders. Work conditions (esp. age of the vehicles) and competitive wages are a serious issue as bus drivers are often lured to the trucking industry. Yet, the city council traditionally favours bus service due to its flexibility and inital lower costs and some 150 brand new articulated buses were procured in 2004-2006.

Service on tracks

BKV operates thirty-five city tram lines and five municipal railways into the suburban agglomeration. The once extensive web of tram tracks and the brown striped yellow streetcars were a characteristic of Budapest, but the network was curtailed after the fall of communism due to lack of funding for the tracks. Line 4-6 is still the largest capacity tram line in Europe. The streetcar and cogwheel railway service is now set to have a renaissance as there isn't any further road capacity for bus lanes in Budapest. Financing is being sought from EU to help replace the more than forty-year-old rolling stock, starting with new 54 meter long Siemens Combino giants meant for the 4-6 line.

The underground railway network is less extensive, including two full-sized metros (red M2 in the east-west direction and blue M3 north-south) utilizing soviet technology and the MFAV, a small-sized underground tramway, which is more than 100 years old. A third full-sized metro (called M4) will be built between 2005 and 2009, as well as a high speed rail to the Ferihegy BUD international airport, which is currently served by a single bus line. – See the main article Budapest Metro. Since 2005 it is possible to buy the "BEB" monthly pass, which permits use of the national railway lines for urban travel, effectively increasing the tracked service for BKV's passengers.

Passenger statistics

Approximately 55% of traffic in Budapest, a city with 1.7 million inhabitants, is still carried by BKV vehicles, with 45% remaining for private cars. During 2003 all-together 1.4 billion people travelled with BKV. During the socialist era, Budapest had 2 million residents and the public vs. private travel proportion was 80% / 20% in favor of mass transit.

Funding

Since the fall of communism BKV has been constantly plagued by a lack of funding and its fleet is becoming obsolete (an average BKV bus is now 15 years old). BKV operates on a net loss basis; state-mandated ticket prices cover less than 50 percent of its costs. The state circumvents EU regulations by failing to fully compensate the BKV company for operational costs and amortization, thus funds for new vehicles are scarce. BKV survives by selling some of its old garage and repair bases for mall and housing development.

In 2004-2006 one hundred and fifty low-floor Volvo 7700A articulated buses were acquired via a long term leasing agreement from Volvo Polska because of a need to replace the 40 year old M2 underground line and the huge 4-6 tram line with surface transport for months of extensive reconstruction work. This batch of 150 Volvos represents the first significant new addition to BKV's fleet in five years. A decision has also been made to buy a single large batch of new underground railway trains from Alstom, at a big discount, for the about-to-be-built M4 line and the rebuilt M2 line.

Usage

BKV sells paper-based single tickets and passes; a 25 euro pass allows an adult to travel on any BKV vehicle for one month. There are plans to introduce smartcard based passes and tickets in a few years in an attempt to reduce unpaid travel (which is currently approximately 10 percent of all passenger kilometers).

See also the usage of the Budapest Metro.

People with disabilities

Only a growing minority of regular BKV vehicles are accessible to disabled people (e.g. IK-412 diesel and ETB low-floor buses, Solaris ETB buses, Volvo articulated buses and a few stations of the MFAV underground tram line). There are a few small-sized BKV buses, which can be called by phone to transport a person using a wheelchair. The M4 metro line will have public elevators installed in every station. The current M2 and M3 metro stations only have escalators.

Currently available regular service line with handicapped compatible low-floor vehicles:

Diesel bus lines

• 5: full time
• 7 non-red: full time
• 9: full time
• 15: full time
• 26: full time
• 32: full time
• 51: most of the day, except morning rush hour and late night
• 61E: occasional (usually every second or third bus is LF)
• 73 non-red: full time
• 78: full time
• 85: most of the day, except morning rush hour and late night
• 86: full time
• 103: full time
• 136E: occasional, one LF bus per hour (when the silver Delfino bus is working)
• 151: most of the day, except morning rush hour and late night
• 200: full time (formerly called Airport Bus, connects Ferihegy BUD to metro M3)

Electric trolley bus lines

• 70, 74, 78: occasional, one LF vehicle per half hour or one hour

Tramway (streetcar)

• 4 and 6: Starting summer 2006, with one LF tram per half hour

(will be fully LF by 2008 as more Siemens Combino vehicles arrive)

• MFAV: The two end stations are equipped with wheelchair lifts, which proved impractical and unpopular

Description of major vehicle types used by BKV

Diesel buses

• Ikarus IK-260: These are domestically produced 10.5 meter (35ft) long, entirely high-floor buses, age of fleet between 15 and 19 years. Considered the "old workhorse", it negotiates poor road conditions easily, but passengers suffer a lot of noise and vibration owing to the under-floor mounted engine.

• Ikarus IK-280: Articulated (bendy bus)version of the IK-260. Some of the fleet have been entirely rebuilt in 2001 and painted in red-blue livery for use on express routes (as low-floor articulated buses cannot drive fast on bad roads).

• Ikarus IK-405: Two-door 7 meter long (20ft) partially low-floor miniubuses for weight limited routes, like Castle District and Gellért Hill. The design is generally considered a failure, with a cramped passenger compartment. Equipped with fragile independent front suspension, it is prone to roll, but still must run on steep routes for lack of a replacement. IK405 vehicles have tilted green striping painted at the front.

• Ikarus IK-412: Domestically produced 12 meter (40ft) long, entirely low-floor buses, age of fleet between 4 to 7 years. The type is a serious failure, manufactured during the final decline period of Ikarus company, literally no two same vehicles exist in the IK412 fleet. Several engine compartment fires forced BKV to rebuild the propulsion cells and the chassis is still very prone to breaking. Suffers from reduced size rearmost door and narrow corridor. All the IK412 are painted in a light shade of blue.

• Ikarus IK-415: Domestically produced 12 meter (40ft) long, entirely high-floor buses, age of fleet between 17 and 12 years. Their rear-mounted DAF diesel engines are famous for their terrible roar, scaring passer-by's, but the cab is quieter. The reduced size of their rearmost passenger door is a problem for mass transit. These vehicles have tilted green striping at the front.

• Ikarus IK-435: Domestically produced 18 meter (60ft) long bendy bus version of IK-415, age of fleet between 12 and 9 years. First with pusher-type articulated drive, they suffered a lot of technical problems and still struggle with chassis weaknesses. They are generally liked by passengers, as their 735mm high floor is lower than the IK200 series' 960mm (3ft) very high floor level. These vehicles have tilted green stripes at the front.

• Volvo 7700A: Polish made 18 meter (60ft) long bendy buses, based on Swedish B7LA chassis. Considered a tech marvel by experts for stuffing four double-lane doors and usable corridor in a fully low-floor vehicle with vertically mounted engine. Current fleet of 150 arrived in three batches of fifty in 2004/2005/2006, the last year's model is extremely advanced. The general public does not like it that much and consider them slower running than high-floors, due to the many EU-mandated security features. Most of them are air conditoned, which is unique to this type among BKV's fleet.

• Volvo Urbino: Polish made 12 meter (40ft) buses with a weird partially low-floor / very high floor combination, based on Swedish truck chassis. They are not owned by BKV, but rather by Volán subcontractors, who run many smaller-volume routes in a private venture, but for regular fee. On some routes MAN AG buses, similar to the above mentioned IK-415, are used.

Electric trolley buses (overhead wires)

• ZIU-9: These 11 meter (35ft) Soviet-made vehicles have partial semi-lowfloor at the rear. The fleet is twenty-five years old and suffers from rust as well as degraded insulation of the electric drive system. These vehicles are not allowed to run in humid weather after a series of incidents where crew or passengers received minor electric shocks in 2005. The obsolete and highly inefficient ZIU type is set to disappear by mid-2007.

• IK-280T: ETB version of the IK-280 diesel articulated bus, most have been rebuilt with transistorized propulsion.

• IK-435T: ETB version of the IK-435 diesel articulated bus. Due to cutbacks in ETB route lenghts, there is a relative surplus of this fleet, but they don't fit the ZIU-9's assigned routes, so they must idle a lot.

• IK-411/412T: ETB version of the above mentioned IK-412 diesel buses. Limited fleet due to fiscal collapse of Ikarus and BKV's lack of funds during late-90's.

• Solaris Trollino: Polish-made fully low-floor 12 meter (40ft) buses designed as genuine ETB vehicles. Scored surprisingly well on bad Budapest roads, but the fleet is limited due to fiscal collapse of Transelektro Group, the domestic co-manufacturer. BKV is still hoping to get delivery of the entire order by end of 2008.

Trams (streetcars)

• UV: These domestic-made vehicles were built during 1954-1965, based on pre-WII designs. Quite popular among tram enthusiasts of the world, BKV recently celebrated it's 50 years of service with an elaborate "UV Day" parade. Usually runs in attached pairs, or pairs with an added unpowered wagon in the middle (some of those were made in 1939). The antique UV vehicles have no heating installed and are set to phase out in 2008, but they will be difficult to replace because of their narrow body and certain railway tunnels sized to fit them exactly. The idea that UV stands for Új villamos (new tram) is a widespread urban legend.

• ICS: Abbreviation for "Industrially Made Bendy" these 1970-era domestic vehicles are 27 meters long, high-floor and double-articulated. They either run single or in attached pairs, depending on route capacity demand. Similarly narrow-bodied as the UV type they can be used on any BKV tram route. A minority of the fleet has been rebodied and rebuilt by Ganz using Ansaldo electronics during the 1990's, but the majority of them are quite degraded and still have no heating installed.

• Tatra T5C: Czechoslovakian manufactured 1980-era high-floor trams of the 12 meter (40ft) class. They either run in pairs or triples depending on capacity need. They are comfortable but wider superstructure limits the lines they can serve. Some were rebuilt with better electronics in early 2000's.

• TW 6000: West-German manufactured very high floor trams of 1976 vintage, which BKV purchased in refurbished condition from the city of Hannover. These 25 meter long (80ft) vehicles only run as singles and noted for their extremely quiet stride (which did cause some minor accidents initially). Originally designed to serve as light-rail train, the TW6000 vehicles have variable door-well feature, which could serve tram stops in a step-less entry configuration. This feature is highly sought-after by pregnant mothers and the elderly, but so far no money has been found to build the elevated tram stop platforms required to support it.

• Siemens Combino: State-of-the-art Austrian made fully low-floor trams of a special, 54 meter (180ft) long design (meant only for Budapest). Constructed of steel, instead of the originally proposed aluminium, they are currently running in an extensive street test to see if light rails can support them. Eventually 40 of them are supposed to replace the dual-ICS fleet now serving the extremely busy route 4-6V.

Heavier rail

• Cogwheel: Late-1960's era red carts made by ABB Austria are currently serving the line, but civil organizations are pushing for their replacement and rebuild of the entire track, which is unlikely to happen in near future, considering the costs.

• HÉV: East-german made 60-70's era MUX vehicles, painted in green, serve all the lines. They are comfortable but noisy and relatively slow, sometimes owing to track conditions. Due to highly flammable interior materials and the lack of brake effectiveness, the fleet's fate is in limbo with the rail safety authority.

• MFAV: Domestically made double-articulated carriages from 1973 run on the line. Loosely based on the above mentioned ICS tram technology, they feature three small cabins per vehicles in a fully-low floor configuration. Not likely to be replaced any soon, MFAV vehicles are noted for high maintenance requirements, dictated by the cramped engine nacelles (needed to fit the tiny 100 year old tunnel).

• Underground Railway: Both M2 and M3 lines are served by 5 or 6 carriage trains of soviet origin. These Mitisin Factory made metro vehicles are noisy, consume too much electricity and have a lot of wear due to 25+ years of daily service. A minority of them have been rebuilt in 1998, but that did not result in significant passenger comfort enhancement.

Miscellanous vehicles

• Massive yellow-blue trucks and orange-painted lorries are used by BKV to repair overhead wires. They are equipped with blue rotary lights and syrens and thus authorized to ignore road traffic rules in a hurry.
• Orange minivans and white Renault trucks are used to repair to repair buses on site, these only have orange warning lights.

A thriller movie

A surrealistic thriller titled Kontroll was filmed in the M2 and M3 underground railway line tunnels during 2002-2003. The movie has won several awards. The ironic beginning of the movie features Botond Aba, CEO of BKV, who declares all events and locations shown in the film are purely fictional.

Colour coding

BKV paints its vehicles different colours by type.

• Trams: yellow
• HEV vehicles: green
• Trolley buses: red
• Buses: blue

The five metro lines are marked on the map with different colours:

• Metro 1: yellow
• Metro 2: red
• Metro 3: blue
• Metro 4 (Under Construction): green
• Metro 5 (Planned): purple

External links

• [BKV Rt.]
• [An awarded image of a new Combino tram]

 

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From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
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