Ecolines

Ecolines is a brand of intercity bus service in Central and Eastern Europe, with operations by several carriers. Ecolines has a fleet of over 200 buses, with international routes primarily served by single-and double-decker coaches manufactured by MAN Truck & Bus, Neoplan and Setra.[2]

History

Ecolines was founded in Latvia in 1993 as Norma-A.[3]

In 2017, Norma-A, the operator of Ecolines-branded buses in Latvia, acquired 10 new buses for €4 million.[4]

Accidents

  • In December 2004, an Ecolines bus traveling from Moscow to Riga slid off an icy road in the Jēkabpils district and flipped over, killing ten passengers.[5][6]
  • In September 2013, an Ecolines bus traveling between Moscow and Riga crashed into another bus in Russia, killing nine people.[7]
  • In August 2018, an Ecolines bus crashed in Belarus after the driver fell asleep at the wheel; there were no injuries.[8]
  • In December 2019, an Ecolines bus traveling from St. Petersburg to Riga went off road, injuring nine people.[9][10]

Operating companies

  • Amron (Russia)
  • Avtobus-Tur (Belarus)
  • Ecolines Estonia (Estonia)
  • Norma-A (Latvia)
  • TRANSINESTA (Lithuania)
  • AutoLux (Ukraine)

References

  1. About ECOLINES Ecolines^
  2. ECOLINES buses Ecolines^
  3. Ecolines starp Baltijas valstīm pārvadā par 13% vairāk pasažieru Dienas Lapa, 3 June 2015^
  4. Ecolines par 4 miljoniem eiro iegādājies 10 jaunus autobusus Dienas Lapa, 7 April 2017^
  5. Bus crash kills 10 people and injures dozens in Latvia Gulf News, 1 January 2005^
  6. Bus tragedy takes lives of nine New Year tourists The Baltic Times, 6 January 2005^
  7. Riga-Moscow bus collides with another bus in Russia; 9 people killed The Baltic Course, 8 September 2013^
  8. Passenger bus headed to Estonian capital crashes in Belarus The Baltic Course, 3 August 2018^
  9. Reasons behind Ecolines bus crash in Estonia remain unknown Baltic News Network, 30 December 2019^
  10. Bus carrying nearly 70 passengers crashes, rolls off Tallinn-Narva highway Eesti Rahvusringhääling, 29 December 2019^