New electric BYD buses handed over in Szeged

Eight fully electric buses were handed over in Szeged. The brand new BYD buses, manufactured for local public transport, were presented during a press event on Thursday, June 29.

At the handover ceremony, deputy mayor for economy Tamás Kovács spoke about how Szeged's city administration set itself the goal of having the greenest public transport in the country. He also mentioned the ten MAN Lion's City CNG buses that were handed over in February this year and serve the same purpose, to reduce emissions.

Volánbusz provides the buses for local transport, and according to the contract with Szeged, the city's vehicle fleet must be modernized every year. After the above-mentioned vehicle purchases, the average age of the buses serving Szeged has been reduced to eight years, compared to the national average of fifteen years. At the moment, Szeged has the greenest fleet of vehicles in domestic public transport.

Szeged's trolleybus fleet will also be renewed at the end of the year, further greening the city and its traffic - the deputy mayor emphasized in his speech.

The eight buses that have just been handed over save Szeged from 526 tons of carbon dioxide annually, which corresponds to the carbon dioxide sequestration capacity of 7,680 leafy trees - shared László Lázár, the communications manager of the HUMDA Hungarian Mobility Development Agency.

Szeged's new electric buses were made in Hungary, in the Komárom factory of BYD Electric Bus & Truck, one of the world's largest manufacturers of electric vehicles — said László Krenner, CEE Sales Manager at BYD Electric Bus & Truck Hungary Ltd.

The buses provide easy access and a dedicated area for wheelchairs and strollers and have onboard wifi, USB connectors, and surveillance cameras. These vehicles can run 300-350 km with one charge, which is enough for their one-day mileage.

Photo: Szilvia Molnar / Szegedify