New MOL Bubi bikes put on trial run in Budapest

The refurbished bike-sharing system of the Hungarian capital will soon be open to the general public

Spring is knocking on the door and the assembly of the new MOL Bubi bicycles at the Csepel Zrt. plant is in full swing. 100 new bicycles have already been put together, and in a matter of days another 400 bicycles will leave the assembly line, Budapest Transport Centre (BKK) has announced on its web page. This year, 1,200 bikes will be assembled in Csepel for the renewed, sustainable public bicycle scheme of the Hungarian capital.

Testing the system’s operability

On 1 March 2021, Csepel Zrt., which had won the municipal tender for the new bike-sharing scheme, started testing the service at the collection stations to make sure that bicycle pick-up and drop-off works flawlessly. Contractor testing is expected to begin on 17 March, where renting, registration, payment and related processes will be monitored. Based on the success of these tests, the system can be offered to BKK for operational testing, and the client-side test can start (sometime around 23 March). The purpose is to put the system under a real-life load and create criteria for trouble-free operation. By the end of the trial run, 800 bicycles will await commissioning, and a further 400 bicycles will be commissioned within four weeks of the start of live operation.

Leading bicycle producer

Csepel Kerékpárgyártó és Forgalmazó Zrt. is the only Hungarian company engaged in full-scale bicycle production. The factory, founded by Manfréd Weiss in 1928, continued to operate as part of Csepel Works after the Communist nationalization, producing Csepel bicycles, which became a household name.

Now the brand new MOL Bubi bikes are also being assembled at this plant. The new bicycles will be easier and faster to ride than their predecessors due to reduced weight and new, puncture-resistant tires. A new application will make registration a piece of cake, and a completely new website of the service will be created soon.