According to the press announcement, the Budapest Metropolitan Government Office ordered an immediate technical inspection because several BKV buses have caught fire in recent days, endangering the lives and safety of passengers.

Technical inspectors from the government conducted inspections at four locations of BKV, which is also responsible for the maintenance and technical inspection of buses, to assess the condition of vehicles participating in daily traffic.

Serious and dangerous deficiencies were revealed in the inspected vehicles: the government agency's staff banned 22 percent of the inspected buses from duty by canceling their technical validity, ordered 28 percent to undergo a technical inspection within 30 days, and ordered immediate repairs for 28 percent. 

According to the press statement, only 22 percent of the inspected vehicles were in technically satisfactory condition.

The most typical deficiencies included oil leaks that could even lead to a fire hazard, inadequate braking, and the inadequate condition of tires and chassis components, they explained, adding that in several cases the inspections also pointed to the improper condition of the passenger compartment (seat fastening, problems with handrails) and the absence or expiration of mandatory accessories (wheel chocks, powder extinguishers).

The government office, as the transport authority, will continue to take all measures to ensure the safety of travelers in Budapest and will also monitor the technical condition of the vehicles currently being inspected, the press statement says.

Govt office’s inspection of public buses reveals 'dangerous' deficiencies

The Budapest government office on Thursday said its inspections of buses operated by public transport company BKV have revealed "worrying and dangerous" deficiencies.

The statement noted that the government office ordered an immediate technical inspection of BKV’s buses after several of them caught fire recently, endangering the lives and safety of passengers.

The government office’s inspectors conducted their checks at four locations to assess the condition of the buses.

The inspections uncovered "worrying and dangerous" deficiencies, with the inspectors banning 22 percent of the vehicles from traffic.

Fully 28 percent of the vehicles will have to undergo a technical inspection within 30 days, and another 28 percent will require immediate repairs. Only 22 percent of the buses were deemed to be in a technically satisfactory condition, the statement said.

The most typical deficiencies included oil leaks, inadequate breaking and tires and chassis components being in an inadequate condition, they said, adding that the inspections had also found deficiencies in the passenger compartments.

The government office said it will keep track of the technical condition of BKV’s buses, and vowed to take every measure necessary to keep the capital’s public transport users safe.

Karacsony: Buses withdrawn from traffic would have been replaced in 2021 if govt approval had not been rejected

Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony said on Thursday that the government had caused delays in the acquisition of new buses, and had the required government approval not been rejected in 2021, the buses currently withdrawn from traffic would have been replaced back then.

Karacsony said on Facebook that the government office had ordered the withdrawal of nine buses from traffic but this would not cause disruptions in the public transport system. The buses went into repair last night and some of them have already been completed, he added.

"Our team has been working 24-hours a day in order to ensure that no disruptions are experienced in the release of vehicles," he said.

He added that the Budapest transport company BKV had been monitoring buses day by day and the government office was also checking them from time to time.

Karacsony said the reason for vis maior situations and breakdowns had been unchanged for decades: "a part of the bus fleet has become outdated and run-down".

The city council has been continually renewing the bus fleet as much as it could afford this, while the government has been causing delays, he added.

He said that in 2021 an agreement had been prepared with banks on financing the replacement of several buses but the government refused to give its approval.

Szentkiralyi: Passengers’ lives in danger on burning buses 'in Karacsony's, Tisza's Budapest'

The lives of public transport users are in danger on burning buses "in [Mayor Gergely] Karacsony's and opposition Tisza's Budapest", Alexandra Szentkiralyi, the leader of the Fidesz group in the city assembly, said.

In a post on Facebook, Szentkiralyi said Tisza leader Peter Magyar was "lying low" and the city administration was trying to shift the blame elsewhere when it came to the incidents of public buses catching fire. "Such a situation would have been impossible to imagine under Istvan Tarlos’s administration," she said.

She expressed shock at the findings of the Budapest government office’s inspection of the buses operated by BKV, noting that 22 percent of the vehicles were found to be unsafe for passengers, and 56 percent of them were found to have other technical problems.

Only 22 percent of BKV’s bus fleet was deemed to be in a satisfactory condition by the inspectors, she said, adding that these conditions were caused by a lack of maintenance.

Szentkiralyi said this was "hugely irresponsible" because it was not only financially costly, but it also endangered the lives of passengers.

"The mayor and his allies can’t shift the blame elsewhere," she said. "We simply can’t have almost four-fifths of BKV buses be dangerous to passengers because of a lack of maintenance while the last funds of the city on the brink of bankruptcy are spent on buying a landfill. The city administration’s negligence mustn’t endanger the health of Budapest residents."

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881. While MTI articles are usually factual, some may contain political bias, and readers should be aware that such content does not reflect the position of XpatLoop, which is neutral and independent.

Since the goal of XpatLoop is to keep readers well briefed, right across the spectrum of opinions, MTI items are shared to ensure readers are aware of all narratives within the local media.

XpatLoop believes in empowering readers to form their own views through complete and comprehensive coverage. To facilitate this XpatLoop has a balanced range of news partners, as you can see when you surf around XpatLoop.com

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