The Praga NDO was a

front-engine In automotive design, a front-engine, front-wheel-drive (FWD) layout, or FF layout, places both the internal combustion engine and driven roadwheels at the front of the vehicle. Usage implications Historically, this designation was used reg ...

bonnet A Bonnet is a variety of headgear, hat or cap Specific types of headgear referred to as "bonnets" may include Scottish * Blue bonnet, a distinctive woollen cap worn by men in Scotland from the 15th-18th centuries And its derivations: ** Fea ...

ed bus made by the

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

automaker

Praga Praga is a district of Warsaw, Poland. It is on the east bank of the river Vistula. First mentioned in 1432, until 1791 it formed a separate town with its own city charter. History The historical Praga was a small settlement located at ...

from 1938 to 1948.

Development

The Praga NDO bus chassis was developed in the late 1930s in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. The first buses manufactured by

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 ...

were being used since 1938, but the

German occupation of Czechoslovakia German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

in March 1939 caused suspension of the production. A simultaneous

switch to right-hand traffic in Czechoslovakia The switch to right-hand traffic in Czechoslovakia was a change in the rule of the road in 1938–1939. Before 1938, Czechoslovakia drove on the left. In 1925, Czechoslovakia accepted the Paris convention and undertook to change to right-hand ...

also forced the re-work of all existing buses. The production was resumed by

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 Republ ...

in 1947, with the first bus appearing on route in

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 ...

3 December 1947. Other bus manufacturers in Czechoslovakia were shut down in 1948. By that time, the NDO bus chassis was thoroughly obsolete, but production of NDO bus continued due to urgent demand for mass transportation in the rebuilt Czech cities. After building 50 buses in 1947-1948, the NDO bus was replaced on production lines with the Škoda 706 RO bus, which was superseded in time by the

Škoda 706 RTO Škoda 706 RTO is an urban bus produced by bus manufacturer Karosa and Škoda in Czechoslovakia between 1958 and 1972. It was succeeded by Karosa ŠM 11 in 1964. Construction features 706 RTO is built on frame of Škoda 706 trucks. Engin ...

Construction

The construction of the NDO bus was based on the Praga ND truck, with the forward-located engine and its cowling unchanged. The bus body was mostly made of metal, only the roof was made of wood and canvas. The bus maximal speed was . The maximal loaded weight of the bus was . The long-haul layout featured a four seats per row, with central aisle and forward door. Driver had a separate door to the driving compartment. The capacity of long-haul NDO buses was 42 passengers. The short-haul layout featured wider aisle with seats arranged along the bus walls facing aisle. The folding door was located in the center of the bus body. The short-haul layout had the 65 passengers capacity, with 27 seats. Also, a short-hail version with the two doors was made. The front door was still operated from the driver`s compartment, while the rear door was operated by the conductor.

Usage

At least 50 NDO buses were used 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 ...

and 20 in

, some other buses were used in

. The buses were gradually retired from the municipal service in 1955-1958 being replaced by Škoda 706 RO, with at least one of the decommissioned buses were still on road in 1960s serving a club customers.

References

{{reflist Bus transport in the Czech Republic Praga vehicles Buses of the Czech Republic Buses