Articulated Bus

Do you remember the old articulated Ikarus buses? With its vibrant crimson colors, its climbing of the mountain without rattle, the sound that fills it, the way it makes you feel every bit of the bumps on the road… If you tinker with your memories, you will remember that you have experienced this journey, just like every Turkish citizen! To what did the Icarus, which became an integral part of Istanbul, almost one of its symbols, owe their popularity? Don't tire yourself by thinking at all, we'll give you the answer; strong plastic bellows!

Articulated buses consist of 2 giant parts, each the size of a bus. In fact, some buses have 3 bellows and their dimensions vary from 11 meters to 25 meters. Its giant dimensions allow it to carry many more passengers than a normal bus. So what advantages does this have? Most importantly, they reduce the damage we do to the environment, and the math for that is very simple; A bus carries 2 busloads of passengers and this bus has an engine! They are economical because they not only produce fewer emissions, but also automatically reduce fuel consumption.

The first examples of the articulated bus appeared in Europe in the 1920s. In 1938, the Twin Coach brand built an articulated bus for the city of Baltimore; With a body of 14 meters and four axles, this bus was the first example of articulated buses. The rise of the articulated bus started with the Ikarus buses, which also included the title of our article. The Ikarus 180, the first articulated bus prototype of Icarus, a Hungarian company named after Greek mythology, appeared in 1961 and went into mass production in 1966. Since it was produced in Hungary, which was a part of the eastern bloc at that time, Icarus achieved great popularity in Eastern Bloc countries in accordance with the political spirit of the period. It has become very popular in urban public transportation in Turkey with its affordable price, durability and strength; Thus, Turkish people met the articulated bus for the first time. The plastic bellows in the middle of the bus have become indispensable for busy lines as they successfully transport tons of metal, successfully correlate giant parts, and safely transport the cargo of millions of people to their desired destinations without fuss. Today, we cannot say that these habits have changed much; There are still plastic bellows in metrobuses and thanks to these, we can get rid of the endless traffic a little bit.

The old Icarus buses may be extinct and their production may have stopped, but they still live on in people's memories. Remembering them takes people back to the old days and is enough to warm their hearts. Articulated buses and metrobuses are still being used, and they continue to serve millions of people every day, thanks to their plastic bellows.