2000. First news
Shared bus transport in Oradea was carried out, at the end of the 1990s, on eight urban and other pre-urban lines, with old DACs and Ikarus.
In 1997, to replace them, the transport directorate leased 10 Renault buses from Belgium for a period of 3 years. Added to them were 8 articulated vehicles manufactured by the French company Heuliez, brought in December 1997, but little used due to high rent.
All the models in traffic at that time were produced in the 1970-1980s, being morally outdated and physically worn.
It was only at the end of 2000 that new Rocar brand buses were purchased. Although the group was supposed to number 16, in the end there were only 5 and a few minibuses.
In place of those that were no longer manufactured by Rocar, Liaz buses were bought in 2003, the first equipped with electronic display and loudspeakers.
The Rocar and Liaz models circulated for more than 10 years, being scrapped in 2017.
The third purchase of new vehicles in that period was in 2004, when 20 Mercedes Conectos were delivered. Reliable, these buses were used until 2023 when the last 3 were retired from the active fleet.
2023. The future is electric
From the beginning of the 2000s until now, new buses have been purchased for public transport in Oradea, in small batches: Volvo in 2009, Solaris in 2011, Isuzu and Karsan minibuses in 2015, and more recently diesel and hybrid models from Mercedes.
In parallel, several dozen others were purchased second-hand. In total, there are about 110 buses in the active park, of which, at peak times, around 80 are on the routes.
More recently, through the electrification of road transport, fully electric ones are also making way. In February 2022, the Oradea public transport company tested such a bus, of the Mercedes eCitaro type, at the end of a series that also included other brands.
The prices of such vehicles are high and they need specific infrastructure, so the Oradea City Hall is trying to obtain a financing of 26.5 million euros through the North-West Regional Program 2021-2027.
Meanwhile, in July 2023, the tender was launched for the purchase of 40 electric buses, including 10 articulated buses, 10 slow charging stations and 4 fast charging stations.
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2023-10-01 12:42:00
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