Green Bus Programme to help Hungarian cities to electric transport

The government’s Green Bus Programme will facilitate replacing 50 percent of conventional buses in Hungary’s largest cities by low carbon emission ones within the next ten years, the minister of innovation and technology said in Zalaegerszeg, in south-west Hungary, on Friday.

László Palkovics said that

making transport greener was a key component in the government’s commitment to achieve climate neutrality in the country by 2050.

According to an effective government decree, Hungarian cities with more than 25,000 inhabitants will be banned from buying other than emissions-free buses for public transport, while the government has committed itself to providing co-financing to the acquisition of electric buses.

Palkovics said that

in the next ten years the government will assist cities with county status with a total 36 billion forints (EUR 104m) when they buy electric buses, and suggested that the government’s co-payment could exceed the originally planned 20 percent of the price.

Green Bus is also aimed at boosting domestic bus making, Palkovics said, adding that eight companies have already bid to participate.

State secretary Péter Kaderjak said that a Green Bus pilot project was being launched in Debrecen, Kaposvár, Kecskemét, Békéscsaba, Székesfehérvár, Esztergom, Zalaegerszeg, Nyíregyháza and the Mátra power plant area, with each receiving 800 million forints to buy electric buses.

• Hungarian government to rethink EV subsidies

Read alsoImportant: plug-in hybrid models are in production at Mercedes-Benz Hungary