Public transport in

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

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 ...

is provided by two companies, ''SzKT'' (short for the Hungarian name of ''Public Transport Company of Szeged'') and ''Volánbusz''. The former company operates

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

s and

trolley bus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

es, while the latter operates

buses A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

. SzKT is owned by the city. After the

great flood A flood myth or a deluge myth is a myth in which a great flood, usually sent by a deity or deities, destroys civilization, often in an act of divine retribution. Parallels are often drawn between the flood waters of these myths and the primaeval ...

of 1879 the existing

omnibus Omnibus may refer to: Film and television * ''Omnibus'' (film) * Omnibus (broadcast), a compilation of Radio or TV episodes * ''Omnibus'' (UK TV series), an arts-based documentary programme * ''Omnibus'' (U.S. TV series), an educational progr ...

transport was insufficient for the rapidly growing city's needs, so from July 1, 1884

horse tram A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is an Animal-powered transport, animal-powered (usually horse) tram or streetcar. Summary The horse-drawn tram (horsecar) was an early form of ...

s were operated by a company which was the predecessor of SzKT. In 1885 there were more than 300,000 passengers. Tram traffic started on October 1, 1908. The fare was quite expensive for the time. Until 1971 trams carried not only passengers but also goods. Development was hindered by

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

: several tram lines were abolished and two tram cars were sold to other cities. Usage of the tram service decreased. As

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

did not cause major damage in infrastructure, traffic could start again immediately after the end of the war. On April 14, 1950 the company changed its name to the Szeged Street Railway Company (''Szegedi Villamos Vasút Vállalat''), which was changed again in 1955 to the Szeged Transport Company (''Szegedi Közlekedési Vállalat''). The company started its bus service around this time. Buses were planned to play a secondary role to the tram system, but they quickly became popular. On January 1, 1963 the operation of bus service was taken over by

Tisza Volán The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders. The Tisza be ...

, the county's bus company. Trolleybus services started on April 29, 1979. Trams became less popular and most of the vehicles were becoming too for old continued use; in 1996 the city bought thirteen Tatra trams. SzKT also bought new trolley buses, in 2000 and 2001. In 2005 new Tatra trams were bought to replace the old FVVs. Szeged has 38 bus lines, four tram and six trolley bus lines. The city is one of only four Hungarian cities with trams — the others being

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

Miskolc Miskolc ( , , ; Czech language, Czech and sk, Miškovec; german: Mischkolz; yi, script=Latn, Mishkoltz; ro, Mișcolț) is a city in northeastern Hungary, known for its heavy industry. With a population of 161,265 (1 Jan 2014) Miskolc is the ...

and

Debrecen Debrecen ( , is Hungary's second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the largest Hungarian city in the 18th century and i ...

— and, alongside Budapest and Debrecen, one of only three with trolley buses. A

Tram-train A tram-train is a type of light rail vehicle that meets the standards of a light rail system (usually an urban street running tramway), but which also meets national mainline standards permitting operation alongside mainline trains. This all ...

line to

Hódmezővásárhely Hódmezővásárhely (; also known by other alternative names) is a city with county rights in southeast Hungary, on the Great Hungarian Plain, at the meeting point of the Békés-Csanádi Ridge and the clay grassland surrounding the river Tisza. ...

is under construction as of 2019 with a planned completion date of 2021.

External links

SzKT official site

Tisza Volán official site

{{Hu-transport Public transport companies in Hungary Szeged

Public transport in Hungary cs:Tramvajová doprava v Szegedu