Index – Domestic – The snow shovel fleet is melting heavily in Budapest
With the onset of the winter cold, the people of Budapest can only hope that the Metropolitan Public Areas maintenance will be able to cope with the task of cleaning the roads caused by the first serious snowfall. Knowing the current equipment and workforce, the company is facing serious challenges, as the number of target machines available to the company has decreased drastically, about 20 times, in the last decade, despite the acquisitions of the last few years.
By the way, the number of road cleaning fleets compared to the size of the capital was not sufficient before.
The problem for the company is that the equipment of the vehicles from summer to winter, as well as the necessary repairs and continuous maintenance are hindered by the lack of spare parts and delayed deliveries, which are also widely experienced in the supplier market.
To fulfill the expected winter tasks, the FKF is preparing in cooperation with another organization (Capital Disaster Management Directorate, BRFK, Magyar Közút, BKK) and has signed a contract with the National Meteorological Service, so at least it has information on the state of weather conditions and their expected development.
Overpasses über alles
The FKF Public Cleanliness Division created a strict system of rules for snow shoveling. According to this, the cleaning of Budapest’s more than 5,000 kilometers long paved road network was carried out in the following order:
- bridges, overpasses,
- the road leading to Liszt Ferenc International Airport,
- the Budaörsi road (M1, M7), M3, M5 motorways,
- the introductory sections of the main traffic roads in the capital,
- mountainous sections of bus lines,
- bus and public transport routes,
- roads leading to hospitals, dispensaries, and logistics bases providing public care.
Work on the secondary road network can only begin after the main roads have been put in order.
Upon our interest, the company emphasized that de-skid and snow removal in the capital is a multi-stakeholder task. It is the duty of the owners and operators of the properties to de-skid the sidewalks in front of the properties, in the case of condominiums, the residential community must ensure the cleaning of the sidewalk section in front of the building.
The FKF asks the motorists of Budapest to pay extra attention to regular parking on narrow road sections, because vehicles stuck on the road make it difficult to work. They also request that de-skid vehicles be allowed to move forward in traffic.
Although the number of employees at the company has increased in the recent period, applicants are still waiting for hundreds of vacant positions.
Accordingly, you can also apply for winter work. A fixed-term and indefinite-term employment contract until March 15, 2023 is offered for the period ahead:
- Public sanitation cleaner
- Public cleaning driver
- Public cleaning small machine driver
- Heavy equipment operator
- Balance manager
In the event of a potential accident rate being ordered during the winter period, the FKF will also grant additional compensation to the employees involved in de-skidding in addition to the basic salary and the prescribed allowances.
(Cover photo: A snow shovel cleans the road in the snow-covered Városliget on January 13, 2017. Photo: Zoltán Balogh/MTI)