Budapest takes immediate action: full fleet inspection ordered after bus fires

An immediate investigation is required on fires that occurred on three buses of Budapest transport company BKV on successive days, Budapest’s mayor said on Thursday.

Gergely Karácsony said on Facebook that after Wednesday, two other buses caught fire on Thursday, but fortunately, nobody was injured on either day. “Our colleagues took action in a fast and professional manner,” he added.

Karácsony said that it had been unprecedented since 2022 that two buses caught fire on successive days, let alone three, and “this calls for an immediate investigation”.

“I have asked for an immediate report from the BKV management and instructed them to take all the necessary steps,” he added.

BKV announced that the company had ordered a full and immediate screening of all its buses with special regard to fire safety. They added that nobody had been harmed in the three recent fires and assured passengers that their buses were safe to use.