The replacement of solo buses has been completed. As part of DKV Zrt.’s fleet replacement program until the end of 2024, the last 10 Mercedes-Benz Conecto solo buses will be circulated. The vehicles were ceremoniously handed over to DKV Zrt. by Inter Tan-Ker Zrt. on September 22, 2023. After that, the Volvo Alfa Cívis 12 solo buses will say goodbye to the streets of Debrecen from October 1.
The fleet replacement began on January 3, 2022, with the introduction of 30 individual low-entry Mercedes-Benz Reform and 4 low-floor, articulated Mercedes-Benz Conecto vehicles. In the last year and a half, the above was followed by another 6 articulated Conecto and 29 solo Conecto buses, all completely low-floor. The buses were handed over to DKV Zrt. by Inter Tan-Ker Zrt., which became involved in the operation of local public transport in Debrecen in 2009.
Popular among passengers, the vehicles have EURO6 diesel engines, are three-door and are 12 meters long. The buses are air-conditioned, equipped with Free WiFi and external-interior acoustic passenger information, have a spacious interior, 80 standing and 27 seats. The new solo buses have a camera security system.
With the arrival of the new vehicles, a phase of the city’s transport history came to an end. Volvo solo buses are saying goodbye to the streets of Debrecen. The vehicles were at the service of passengers for 14 years. In 2009, the Cívisbusz Konzorcium put 100 Volvo solo buses into circulation, which were the most modern at that time. The Volvo Cívis 12-type buses had 72 standing and 28 seats and EURO5 engines, air conditioning and exterior-interior acoustic passenger information. These vehicles replaced the old, outdated high-floor Ikarus. With the replacement of buses at that time, pollutant emissions were reduced by 5 tons per year in Debrecen. In the last 14 years, Volvo buses have covered almost 76 million km, and the average mileage of the vehicles was 800,000 km. The fleet has two record-breaking vehicles, the LMG-051 and 053 buses, these are 1,000,000. they ran more than km. This means that the buses had circled the Earth twenty-five times, or had gone to the Moon two and a half times.
Compared to Volvos, the new Mercedes-Benz Conecto solo and articulated buses, as well as the Mercedes-Benz Reform 500 HP solo buses, consume an average of 20% less fuel and therefore emit a fifth less CO2.
Last August, the diesel bus fleet was supplemented with 12 Mercedes-Benz eCitaro electric buses, which were also handed over by the Inter Tan-Ker Zrt. group of companies. As a continuation of the vehicle replacement program, another 40 articulated Mercedes-Benz Conecto buses will be put into service next year. By the end of 2024, passengers will be transported exclusively by a uniform fleet of Mercedes-Benz buses in local traffic in Debrecen.
What will be the fate of supercharged buses?
Csaba Úti, ITK Zrt.’s deputy transport business manager, told our question that the replaced buses will be advertised and sold. He reminded me that the vehicles are 14 years old, so they are still in usable condition. Buses with technical defects will be used as spare parts.
When asked why it is worthwhile for the DKV to lease the buses, Csaba Úti answered that the city and the ITK have worked out an economic structure with which they can secure a beneficial operating contract for Debrecen. The first one started in 2009, and after 14 years, this solution was again found to be the best.
