130 Ikarus Buses Await Lovers of Vehicle Rarities in Budapest

130 buses, including several oldtimer rarities, will be presented at the 6th Ferihegy Ikarus Meeting at the Aeropark on October 5 and 6, the organizers told MTI on Tuesday.

They pointed out that the weekend’s program will include a fun bus ride, a parade, a rolling exhibition and a special engine launch to pay tribute to one of Hungary’s best-known and most successful brands.

The Aeropark, Volánbusz, BKV, the Hungarian Museum of Science, Technology and Transport and their partners

will be displaying the most significant buses of Hungarian vehicle production and transport history for the sixth time.

They recalled that Ikarus is one of the world-famous brands of the Hungarian industry: in the 1970s and 1980s it played a dominant role not only in the Eastern Bloc (also known as the Communist bloc) countries but also on the world market. For decades, the various Ikarus buses were common at Ferihegy Airport (now Liszt Ferenc International Airport), in addition to urban and long-distance public transport, the organizers added.

It was pointed out that of all the old buses, the ones with the biggest fan base are the vehicles with special lines, thus during the day Ikarus 55s will be used for the experience bus service, while the Ikarus 200 family’s 200,000th bus will be used for the shuttle service between Népliget and Aeropark.

The Ikarus 55 was one of the factory’s best-known and most successful long-distance and tourist buses.

The Ikarus 55. Photo: Wikipedia

According to the information, the double-decker “Bikarusz,” restored by Volánbusz and created by combining two buses in the late 1960s, will also move into the Aeropark at the weekend.Alongside, the public will be able to see the Ikarus 30, the factory’s very first model, the Ikarus 60, the first trailer model, the first articulated model, as well as right-hand drive and electric buses, they listed.

The Ikarus 30. Photo: Wikipedia

In addition to the exhibition, a parade will be held on Sunday from 4 p.m.: a convoy of almost 80 buses will start from the Aeropark and drive back and forth along the Vecsés-Ecser link road (near Budapest), with police escort, offering a rare photo opportunity. Most of the vehicles will be on display inside and out, and there will even be a transport history exhibition in the passenger compartments of several of the buses.

The program is open to visitors between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. on both days, and organizers recommend that visitors arrive at the Aeropark using public transport.

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