Bubi Busting Out in Budapest

From Budapesti Közlekedési Központ:


“bubi” (Budapest Bicycle) will be Hungary’s first public bike-sharing system, similar to already existing European models. It is to be operated by BKK, the Centre for Budapest Transport, the new transport authority of Budapest. An Information Day is to be held by the future system operator (BKK) in Budapest, on Wednesday, March 21, 2012. The one-day event will be structured in the form of a roundtable discussion about the most important aspects of the implementation and operation of a public bike-sharing system in Budapest. Due to the limited number of attendees, we would like to invite companies who operate or produce such bike-sharing systems.

image credit: BKK

Budapest's BuBi

Péter from Budapest informs me that Budapest has recently announced the name of its bike-sharing service, set to launch in 2011. The default name of the system had been "KKKR", the Hungarian acronym for Bicycle Public Transport System. The name will be "BuBi", which was selected by a public poll. (That's a much better name. I couldn't imagine asking, "Honey, shall we take the KKKR out to dinner tonight?)

According to the Hungarian News Agency/Greenfo, "The new system will include 1000-1100 bicycles and 70-80 docking stations. It will cover the most densely build-up central part of the city of about 7 square kilometers. The cost of the system is HUF 1.32 billion (EUR 5 million). The system will be installed and managed by Parking Ltd. - a public company in charge of inforcing [sic] of the city's parking policy."

BuBi's beta testing is reported to begin in June 2011 and will be funded in part with European Union funds.

image credit: The Dentist