Budapest assembly approves purchase of new trolley busses

Under the proposal, Budapest transport authority BKK will buy 36 articulated and 12 solo trolley buses from the Solaris-Skoda consortium. City councillors approved the 9.6 billion forint (EUR 26.7m) total value order unanimously.

The Budapest municipal council will set aside 210 million forints for the purchase in 2022 and 9.4 billion in 2023. Delivery of the new buses is expected to begin in late 2022.

City councillors also approved an amendment proposal that calls on Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony to start consultations with the government and the European Investment Bank (EIB) on financing the trolley bus order from a new credit agreement to be signed with the bank.

The assembly also voted unanimously to approve its programme on the use of European Union funds in the 2021-2027 funding cycle. Under the proposal, Budapest will be eligible for 84 billion forints in EU support. The proposal will now be sent to the municipal public development council before being submitted to the government for approval.