Ikarus Bus - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Ikarus is a bus manufacturer based in Budapest

Budapest

Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...

, Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

. It was established in 1895 as Uhri Imre Kovács- és Kocsigyártó Üzeme (roughly: "Imre Uhri's Blacksmith Workshop and Coach Factory").

History

By 1913, the company focused mainly on constructing cars and due to increased sales during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

it made great profits. In 1927, Ikarus had won an international tender and it was this year that large scale production could begin by delivering 60 shuttle buses. Following the Wall Street Crash

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

the company became bankrupt as it did not receive any significant orders and it had to be closed down. In 1935 the company had resumed production and was fully functioning during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. On 23 February 1949, Ikarus was officially established when it merged with airplane manufacturer Ikarus Gép és Fémgyár Rt.

In 1955 and 1956 with the new front engine models (Ikarus 620, 630 and 31) the company's foreign sales were boosted and apart from Eastern-European countries, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, Burma and Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

started using them in several of their cities. By 1962, Ikarus delivered 8,000 buses abroad and in 1970 it won second place at an expo in Monaco

Monaco

Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...

showing its prominence in Europe. In 1971, over 100,000 buses were manufactured and sales increased year-by-year. By 1973, Ikarus became the world's fourth largest manufacturer, but lacking raw materials, orders were not delivered in time on several occasions. Until the dissolution of the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

, the German Democratic Republic

German Democratic Republic

The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...

was one of the most important trading partners of Ikarus, but when Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

was reunited sales fell to about 10%.

Ikarus provided body shells (without doors, windows, seats, engine) for Orion Bus Industries

Orion Bus Industries

Orion International, previously Orion Bus Industries and Ontario Bus Industries in Canada and Bus Industries of America in the United States, is a bus manufacturer based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada and established by the Government of Ontario in 1975...

contracts to supply Toronto

Toronto Transit Commission

-Island Ferry:The ferry service to the Toronto Islands was operated by the TTC from 1927 until 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department. Since 1998, the ferry service is run by Toronto Parks and Recreation.-Gray Coach:...

and Ottawa

OC Transpo

OC Transpo is the urban transit service of the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. An integrated hub-and-spoke system of services is available consisting of: regular buses travelling on fixed routes in mixed traffic, typical of most urban transit systems; a bus rapid transit system — a high...

transit systems with articulated buses in late 1986-1987. The Orion Ikarus buses were put on the fast track for retirement by the TTC due to structural corrosion problems. These problems were blamed on poor spot welds made during the manufacture of the bus.

From 1999, the company was owned by Irisbus

Irisbus

Irisbus is a bus manufacturer which was formed through the merger of the bus and coach divisions of Fiat Industrial, Iveco and Renault in January 1999 and Ikarus Bus in late 1999...

, a French-Italian investing group. In 2006, Irisbus sold Ikarus Bus to Hungary's Műszertechnika group for the full asking price. Műszertechnika signed a contract back in December to acquire 100% of the company, which was established back in 1999 as a 75:25 joint venture between Renault

Renault

Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...

-Iveco

Iveco

Iveco, an acronym for Industrial Vehicle Corporation, originally an alliance of European commercial vehicle manufacturers such as Fiat , Unic and Magirus. Iveco is now an Italian truck, bus, and diesel engine manufacturer, based in Turin...

and Hungarian Industrialist Gábor Széles for Ikarus. In 2002, Ikarus placed the Natural Gas (CNG

Compressed natural gas

Compressed natural gas is a fossil fuel substitute for gasoline , diesel, or propane/LPG. Although its combustion does produce greenhouse gases, it is a more environmentally clean alternative to those fuels, and it is much safer than other fuels in the event of a spill...

) 18 meter articulated bus in Colombia, which is currently in operation in Transmilenio

TransMilenio

TransMilenio is a bus rapid transit system that serves Bogotá, the capital of Colombia. The system opened to the public in December 2000, covering Av. Caracas and Calle 80...

Rapid Bus Mass Transit System in the Capital City of Bogota. The company has come out in 2007 with a new low-floor model which they plan to produce in Hungary (200-400 per year), Russia (1000-2000 per year) and China (10,000 per year).

In 2006, Gary Urteaga, a business entrepreneur from Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

, initiated a project with Ikarus to penetrate the Latin American Market. The Project involves the supply of Natural Gas (CNG) Buses of 8 meters, 12 meters and articulated 18 meters together with the investment in Bus Assembly Plants for the Latin American region. Offers have been made to bidders of the Metropolitano Rapid Bus Transit System of the City of Lima in Peru which is to awarded in 2007 and implemented in 2008-2009. Also, the government of Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

has initiated dialogue with Ikarus derived from the strong interest in the market for Natural Gas Buses shown by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias.

In 2010 a new Ikarus V187 and other standard, and articulated models are introduced to the press and publicly tested on BKV

BKV

BKV is the unified public transport company of Budapest, established in 1968...

lines.

Models

Model	Engine	Type	Length	Notes
30	front
31	front		8.5 m
55	rear	coach	11.4 m
60	front		9.4 m
66	rear	city/suburban	11.4 m
180	mid	articulated city	16.5 m
190	rear		11 m	like West German standard; 1973-1983
194	mid	city/suburban		on Volvo B10M chassis
196	mid	city/suburban		on Volvo B10M chassis
196.02	mid	articulated	18 m	on Volvo chassis
196.03	rear	articulated		on Scania chassis, 1984
208	rear	suburban	8.5 m
210	rear	coach
210	rear	suburban
211	rear			midi bus/coach
212	rear			midi bus/coach
216	rear			midi bus/coach
220	rear	suburban	9.5 m	no series production
230	rear	coach
240	rear	city/suburban
242	rear	city/suburban	11 m
246	rear	city/suburban
250	rear	coach	12 m	produced in large numbers
252	rear	coach	11 m
255	rear	interurban	11 m
256	rear	coach	11 m
260	mid	city	11 m
260T	mid	trolleybus
261	mid	city	11 m	Right-Hand Drive
266	rear	city/suburban	11 m
280	mid	articulated	16.5 m
280T	mid	articulated trolleybus
281	mid	articulated	16.5 m	Right-Hand Drive
282	mid	articulated	18 m
284	rear	articulated	17.9 m
286	mid	articulated	18.2 m	2.59 m wide for USA
290	front	airport	14 m
293	mid	double articulated		prototype
303	rear	coach	8.7 m	only 9 prototypes built
311	front		8.5 m	1957-1972
380NE	rear	coach	12 m	only 1 prototype built
410NE	rear	city	11.4 m	only prototypes built
440NE	rear	city	11 m	only 1 prototype built
556	mid	city	10.9 m
620	front	city	9.4 m
630	front	interurban	9.4 m
695	mid	articulated	17.9 m	"PALT" apron bus

Modern types

405 city bus, 7 m long
411 low-floor city bus, 11 m long
412 low-floor city bus, 11.9 m long
415 city bus, 11.4 m long
417 low-floor, articulated city bus, 17.6 m long, only ever 30 produced
435 articulated city bus, 17.8 m long
438 articulated bus (only 1 prototype)
480 city bus, 12 m long
481 low-floor city bus, 12 m long
489 Polaris low-floor city bus, 12 m long

EAG E91 mini city bus, 7.8 m long
EAG E92 city bus, 9 m long (only 1 prototype)
EAG E94 urban bus 12 m long
EAG E94G urban/suburban bus 18 m long (articulated, only a few manufactured)
EAG E95 interurban bus 12. m long

EAG E97 highdecker coach 12.0 m long
EAG E98 coach 12.0 m long
EAG E99 doubledecker coach 12.m

E127 (127E) low-floor suburban bus, 12.725 m long
E134 (134E) low-floor suburban bus, 13.4 m long
V134 (134V) low floor city bus, 13.4 m long
V187 (187V) low-floor, articulated city bus, 18.75 m long (pre-production)

External links

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