DKV Debreceni Közlekedési Zrt.

In community transport and in the carriage of passengers in the town, DKV Debreceni Közlekedési Zrt. (Closed Public Limited Transport Company of Debrecen), as a legal successor, looks back on a history of 125 years.

The basic activities and tasks of DKV Debreceni Közlekedési Zrt. include the management of local community transport in the town with rail-guided vehicles (trams and trolleybuses) and also the operation and maintenance of the required infrastructure. The key goal of our business policy is to satisfy customer needs in daily service and to comply with the timetable requirements stipulated by the Municipality of Debrecen Town of County Rank.

Although our potentials are limited, our Company seeks to consolidate and to develop the quality of its services. Correct, predictable and safe services for customers are of vital significance for our company, although the number of private car users grows continuously. As compensation, we pursue intensive marketing activities and our primary driver is to increase the utilization capacity of our deep garages by the development of an information system and various advertising activities.

Our services are used by more than 40 million passengers on a yearly basis.

Through on-going monitoring of passenger and customer needs, our key objective is to develop high quality services to satisfy our buyers’ needs who use our community transport services and pay- parking lots in the ownership of the town.

In accordance with the Főnix Plan introducing the development of Debrecen Town, our Com­pany finds it critical to further modernize our tram tracks, to reconstruct our trolleybus vehicle fleet and to construct the totally environmental-friendly tramway No.2. in the direction of the large hous­ing estates in the town.

Organizational units

Our traffic employees perform the operation of electrically-driven community transport and pay-parking lots in the area of Debrecen. In accordance with traffic demands, timetables are pre­pared, regular daily traffic is maintained and immediate operative measures are taken in case of traffic interferences.

The repair and maintenance activities of the public transport vehicles (trams, trolleybuses) owned by our company are performed by our experts in the Vehicle Maintenance Unit. They check the vehicles in regular service on a daily basis, in compliance with operation specifications. They continuously monitor the running performance of vehicles, perform so-called cyclic maintenance tasks according to specified technologies and also refurbish a part of the electric componentsrequired for vehicle operation.

The basic activities of the Infrastructure Unit comprise the provision of power supply neces­sary for the smooth operation of tram and trolleybus traffic, the maintenance and servicing of the overhead catenary and earth cable network and the tram track. The tasks of the unit also include the maintenance of the company facilities, buildings, machines and equipment as well as energy utiliza­tion and environmental protection activities.

The priority task of the Investment and Development Unit is to draw up, schedule and imple­ment our company’s development conceptions, investment and development issues. To raise funds for the financial resources of projects, it monitors tender invitations and prepares applications as well.

Parking

In Debrecen, parking regulations entered into legal force in 1993. The number of pay parking lots was almost doubled from the initial 450.

Two tariff zones were established. Parking zones start at parking signs and extend to the sign indicating the end of the parking zone. (Intersections do not release the scope of parking zones).

Hourly rates and various other season ticket types were introduced. Drivers could pay at vending machines, parking meters and for parking fee collectors.

Due to increased motor vehicle traffic and the limited number of parking lots in the city, with a view of changing economic environment, this regulation has been amended by the town on several occasions.

The 250/2001. (20 XII.) General Assembly Decree of the Debrecen Municipality, closing the tender application period for the operation of parking lots in the ownership of the town, stipulated that our company would be the sole operator of pay parking lots from 2 January 2002. When DKV undertook the scope of responsibilities to operate the parking lots, 1987 pieces were available for motor vehicle drivers on 26 000 m² and the city operated 35 parking machines.

During this period DKV performed numerous developments, which attempted to provide more flexible parking opportunities and fast administration.

Currently DKV operated 4400 parking lots on 52 000 m² and the number of parking machines has amounted to 100 by now. Traffic wardens, controllers, electricians and customer service co-workers offer their assistance for customers to receive full-scale services and access to high level parking facilities.

For fast services, the computer system in the customer service office has been updated and as a result, parking cards were introduced. This payment option allows easier ticket-booking and it is getting increasingly popular in our town. Siemens Prisma 5 parking machines operate in pay parking lots and provide the operation of the cash and chip card system. The operation of the ticket machines is monitored by a GSM based distance surveillance system which also sends reports to the technical unit.

“Cívis” buses

The operator of local bus transport is going to be DKV Transport Zrt. and Inter Tan-Ker Zrt. from 1 July 2009. The responsibilities of DKV Zrt. shall include the operation of the traffic control system and local bus service, while its consortium partner shall provide and maintain the vehicle fleet.

Local bus service shall be provided by brand-new VOLVO B9L – ALFA CIVIS 12, and VOLVO B9LA – ALFA CIVIS 18 type buses, manufactured and supplied by Alfa Busz Csoport (Bus Group) and INTER TAN-KER Zrt. Out of the 140 buses, the construction of the bodywork of 100 ones will be performed by 500 workers in cooperation with suppliers in the company seat of Alfa Busz Kft. in Székesfehérvár. The vehicles are equipped with diesel engines complying with the Euro 5 Environmental Protection Standard, they are fully low-floored and the passenger compartments are air-conditioned.

to create its dynamic and transparent operation and management, which is typical of highly developed public service companies, in harmony with the requirements of pas­sengers, customers and the owner, the Debreceni Vagyonkezelő Zrt. (Debrecen Closed Public Lim­ited Asset Management Company)

Our aim is to provide customer-oriented community services, which are suitable to perform traffic tasks in the town and are capable to become the competitors of private cars.

As the operator of pay-parking lots owned by the town, we seek to construct an up-to-date, distantly-controlled parking system in more and more places and to enhance the profit and productivity of the company through these activities.

Our public limited company wishes to take a considerable role in the operation of newly established parking houses.

It is vital for our company to manage the operation of electrically-driven environmentally-friendly vehicles and to develop the globally widespread „P+R” system, thus improving the health and well-being of Debrecen citizens and preserving the environment.

As regards the preservation of ecological values and healthy habitats, similarly to the member states of the European Union, we find it imperative to prefer electrically-driven vehicles in our activi­ties for the development of community transport sectors.

Our long-term strategy focuses on the stable operation of the company and on the creation of financial safety so that our services should offer adequate alternatives for the users of urban transport and we should provide civilized parking facilities for drivers in surface parking lots and deep-garages in the ownership of our company.

From horse tramway to trams

On the grounds of a contract with Knight József Lehmann, Counsellor for the Prussian Royal Commission, hauled train powered by steam engine for passenger and freight transport commenced for the first time on 2 October 1884 in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. It had a new line in Csapó Street, extended to the Artillery Barracks. The leaders of the town, who wanted to meet the exigen­cies of the time, brought their decision on the introduction of electric driven transport facilities on 16 March 1911, on four tramlines. The tramlines were further extended as far as Pallag, using the DNYBV (Local Debrecen-Nyírbátor) Railway and in 1927 the track section for the Great Forest roundabout traffic system was constructed as well. The Hatvan Street tramway was extended as far as the Nyulas district and the Kossuth Street line was taken to the Custom House. In 1934, as a result of opening the Public Cemetery, the Csapó Street tramline was taken to the main entrance of the cem­etery. Bombardments during World War II. caused considerable damages for D.H.V. Its vehicle fleet, overhead catenary system, track constructions, head office buildings and the Salétrom Street plant buildings were destroyed or damaged badly. Following the restorations of the ravages of the war, as the economic situation started to improve, the number of passengers in Debrecen public transport increased noticeably. The company, already called DKV at that time, sought to meet these challenges and introduced new FVV type trams continuously from 1962. Despite these efforts, based on the traffic conception of 1968, downsizing for rail-guided transport began from 1970 and by 1975 all the branch lines were terminated. Only tramline No. 1., which still operates at present survived these destructions, which are considered wrong today. After the political transformation, campaigns for the improvement of electrically–driven community traffic gained special significance.

To meet increasing public transport demands, our company purchased 11 modern Hungarian tram cars partly from tender resources in 1993-1997.

The idea of the construction of a new tramline, replacing two bus services which are not suitable to carry the high passenger load due to their route potentials, was formulated in 1999-2000 in Debrecen. The construction of this new tramline has got within reasonable reach by Hungary’s accession to the European Union. The submitted tender application was endorsed by decision makers on 18 December 2008, so modern trams are likely to carry an increasing number of passengers on rail-guided community traffic routes in the spring of 2013