Important milestone in Budapest’s public transport: new electric buses to come

The Budapest Public Transport Centre (BKK) has signed 12-year contracts with ArrivaBus to put 70 new electric buses by BYD into service from spring 2026.

70 + 30 new electric buses will carry passengers in Budapest

ArrivaBus will be in charge of the operation and maintenance of the buses, employing drivers and providing charging infrastructure, the Hungarian News Agency reported.

According to the Budapest Transport Centre, the environment-friendly vehicles will be modern, low-floor, purely electric, and air-conditioned. Based on the plans, they will carry passengers in busy downtown lines.

Out of the 70 buses, 50 will be solo, while 20 will be articulated. ArrivaBus, which won the relevant tender in October and December, will provide BYD buses. They hope serving downtown routes with purely electric vehicles will help improve the capital’s air quality. Furthermore, the aim is to help meet the city’s climate goals and make Budapest more resistant to the consequences of climate change.

Interestingly, ArrivaBus wrote in their Facebook post that they will supply Budapest with 82 electric buses and open a new era in the capital’s public transport system. They added that Budapest will be the first European capital to run buses with the so-called “Blade Battery Technology”. ArrivaBus wrote that passengers could travel on the new buses from early 2026.

The goal is zero-emission

Budapest’s local government and the BKK are determined to operate sustainable public transport in Budapest.

ArrivaBus has been supplying 240 buses for Budapest’s public transport fleet since 2015. Based on the current contract, ordering 30% more buses is an option for Budapest. If the capital does so, 10% of its bus fleet will be purely electric.

Budapest prefers zero-emission vehicles both in the trolley and the bus segments. That is how the capital would meet the European Commission’s Green Deal goals, envisioning a carbon-neutral European Union by 2050.