Twilight of the Ikar

Above: This is an Ikarus (nicknamed 'Ikar' by Warsaw's bus spotters and users). Look carefully at this picture, dear reader, for this sight will soon become history. There are fewer and fewer Ikaruses in Warsaw's bus fleet, and they will all disappear by next summer, so as not to cause the city embarrassment when it hosts the Euro 2012 football championships. Ikaruses have already disappeared off the roster for weekend duties, and the 162* - a bus line I know well and use frequently - only uses Ikars during the rush hours. Otherwise, it's the more modern Solaris and MANs that ply the route, and far more comfortable they are too.

Above: An Ikar arrives at my bus stop. It is absolutely, solidly, rigidly jam-packed. At this stop, Śniegockiej, few passengers alight but many struggle to get on. Poles don't queue (unlike Brits); an unseemly scrum ensues to board this bus, won by those with the sharpest elbows and the most urgent journeys.

Above: Phew! I manage to get on, and two stops down the route the crowd thins out at PKP Powiśle. The Ikar rattles and shakes and its worn-out suspension; cold air and filthy exhaust fumes swirl inside through large gaps between the doors and windows. Hold on tight and hold your breath.

I have mixed feelings about the impending demise of the Ikar, a bus that dates back to the mid '70s, even though Warsaw's ones are mainly from the '90s. On the one hand, the modern buses are just so much more comfortable to ride in - even when packed with rush-hour passengers. On that same hand, to board an Ikar you have to take three steep steps (the floor is along the line between the red and yellow on the pic above). This makes it difficult for the disabled, the elderly and mums with prams to get on or off. On the other hand - the Ikar is iconic in an old-school Warsaw sort of way (incidentally, the above picture qualifies for the old school photo challenge).

Available in two flavours, the Ikarus 280 (bendy bus) and 260 (standard). According to Wikipedia, ZTM, Warsaw's bus operator has 209 of the bendy ones and 66 of the short ones out of a total of 1,403 buses. When we moved to Warsaw, anything other than an Ikarus was rather rare. While they are still around, we should snap them for posterity; they'll soon be gone.

*The 162, by the way, goes from Elektrociepłownia Siekierki to Targówek via deepest Praga. Smażymy wątróbki?

This time two years ago:
Jeziorki's wetlands in winter

This time three years ago:
A week into Lent