Praha, DOD 2006 Hostivař, Karosa, opravovaná

Karosa B 741 is an

articulated An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent pivot joint in its construction, allowing it to turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buses, trams and trains. Steam locomotives were someti ...

urban bus produced by bus manufacturer

Karosa Karosa ( cs, Továrna na Kočáry, Automobily, Rotory, Obráběcí stroje, Sekací stroje a Autobusy, en, Factory for carriages, cars, rotors, machine tools, cutting machines and buses) was a bus manufacturer in Vysoké Mýto in the Czech Republi ...

from the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, in the years of 1991 to 1997. In many towns they replaced

Ikarus 280 Ikarus 280 was an articulated bus produced by Hungarian bus manufacturer Ikarus from 1973 to 2002. It was succeeded by the Ikarus 435 in 1985. Construction features The Ikarus 280 is a model of the Ikarus 200 series. It is made of two rigid ...

made in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. In production was succeeded by

Karosa B 941 Karosa B 941 is an articulated urban bus produced by bus manufacturer Karosa from the Czech Republic, in the years of 1997 to 2002. Modernised version, Karosa B941E, was introduced in the year 1999. In many towns they replaced Ikarus 280 made in H ...

in 1997.

Construction features

Karosa B 741 is a model of the

Karosa 700 series Karosa 700 series is a collective term for several modifications of buses made by Karosa company in Czechoslovakia, later Czech Republic in town Vysoké Mýto between 1981 and 1997. History and variants The first buses of 700 series were pr ...

. The B 741 is derived from the

Karosa C 744 Karosa C 744 is an articulated intercity bus produced by bus manufacturer Karosa from the Czech Republic, in the years of 1988 to 1992. In production was succeeded by Karosa C 943 in 1997. Construction features Karosa C 744 is model of Kar ...

articulated intercity bus, and also unified with city bus models such as the B 731 and the B 732. It is made of two rigid sections linked by a pivoting joint. The body is semi-self-supporting with

frame A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (con ...

and

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

with

automatic gearbox An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving c ...

in the rear part. The engine drives only the third C axle, meaning that this articulated bus has a

pusher configuration In an aircraft with a pusher configuration (as opposed to a tractor configuration), the propeller(s) are mounted behind their respective engine(s). Since a pusher propeller is mounted behind the engine, the drive shaft is in compression in nor ...

. The front axle is independent, middle and rear axles are solid. All axles are mounted on

air suspension Air suspension is a type of vehicle suspension powered by an electric or engine-driven air pump or compressor. This compressor pumps the air into a flexible bellows, usually made from textile-reinforced rubber. Unlike hydropneumatic suspension, ...

. On the right side are four doors (first and last are narrower than middle doors). Inside are used leatherette seats, plastic Vogelsitze or Fainsa seats. The driver's cab is separated from the rest of the vehicle by a glazed partition. In the middle part and in the rear part is room for a pram or wheelchair. Original buses produced until 1995 had an open design of turntable, buses delivered in 1996 already have an enclosed design of the turntable as a successor

Production and operation

Prototype of Karosa B741 was done by rebuilding

in the year 1991. By end of this year started serial production, which continued until 1997. Largest operator was Prague transport company (174 buses) and Bratislava transport company (104 buses). Between the years 1991 and 1997 was produced 620 of these buses. "Autobusy Karosa – 13. díl – městské a meziměstské kloubové autobusy řady 700" ''Československý dopravák'' issue 1 2009 pages 27-34 These buses were operated also in other Czech cities, like

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rive ...

Olomouc Olomouc (, , ; german: Olmütz; pl, Ołomuniec ; la, Olomucium or ''Iuliomontium'') is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 99,000 inhabitants, and its larger urban zone has a population of about 384,000 inhabitants (2019). Located on th ...

Zlín Zlín (in 1949–1989 Gottwaldov; ; german: Zlin) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 73,000 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Zlín Region and it lies on the Dřevnice river. It is known as an industrial centre. The development of the ...

, or in Slovakian cities like

Košice Košice ( , ; german: Kaschau ; hu, Kassa ; pl, Коszyce) is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of app ...

Nitra Nitra (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra. It is located 95 km east of Bratislava. With a population of about 78,353, it is the fifth la ...

.
Some buses were also operated in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Currently, number of Karosa B741 buses is reduced, due to supply of new

low-floor bus A low-floor bus is a bus or trolleybus that has no steps between the ground and the floor of the bus at one or more entrances, and low floor for part or all of the passenger cabin. A bus with a partial low floor may also be referred to as a low- ...

es, for example by

SOR NB 18 SOR NB18 is a low-floor articulated single-decker bus produced by bus manufacturer SOR from the Czech Republic since 2008. Since 2009 bus also comes with hybrid drive SOR NBH 18. In many towns they currently replace Karosa B 741 and Karosa B 94 ...

made in

and Irisbus Citelis 18m made in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

. Karosa B 741 operated in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

were retired on 6 June 2015. The last city that Karosas were on service was

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

, they were retired in 2021.

References

{{Karosa Buses Articulated buses Buses manufactured by Karosa Buses of the Czech Republic

Construction features

Production and operation

See also

References