Transport Museum Receives One of the Oldest Ikarus Buses in the World

The Hungarian Museum of Science, Technology and Transport has added to its collection an Ikarus 30 bus, one of the oldest Ikarus buses in the world. The vehicle was unveiled at the institution’s press conference in Budapest on Thursday.

Domonkos Schneller, Director General of the Hungarian Museum of Science, Technology and Transport, said it was a solemn moment for the museum to finally add one of the first ever Ikarus buses to its collection.

He said that

3,175 Ikarus 30s were built, of which only four have survived in Hungary, and of these, two are currently in service. The bus presented at the press conference is one of them, the other is in the possession of Volánbusz (bus service company).

Schneller pointed out that until 2010, the museum’s Ikarus fleet consisted of one bus. He noted that this was simply unacceptable: as he said, the museum, established to preserve the technical and transport heritage, has a duty to preserve all the important models of one of the most significant Hungarian factories, with one model each. As an example, he mentioned that

the Ikarus 180 bus is missing from the museum’s fleet, even though more than 200 of them were in service in Budapest.

He said that the process of adding the Ikarus 30 to the collection has accelerated in the last decade, and the bus presented at the press conference is the twentieth in the museum’s fleet.

Most of the twenty buses are in displayable condition, and some are even roadworthy. However, he said, there is still a lot of work to be done, with tens of millions of forints still to be spent on their renovation.

Schneller pointed out that vehicle and engineering companies operating in Hungary do not see it as their responsibility to play a role in preserving Hungary’s technical and cultural heritage. While in Europe, big vehicle companies establish and maintain museums and participate in restoration processes, in Hungary, the companies do not respond to the museum’s requests, he explained. The work of the institution was supported only by domestically owned construction companies, he added.

About the Ikarus 30 bus on display, he said that it was used by various state-owned construction companies and the museum bought it for its collection last year. The bus came from Szokolya (village near Budapest) and is still undergoing a major restoration process, but it is already capable of traveling short distances, Schneller added.

Via MTI, Featured image: MTI/Illyés Tibor