The most important magazine dedicated to the public transport of people in our country recently organized a festive gala in Brașov through which it recognized and symbolically rewarded the performance in the field. The ZIUA CARGO gala dedicated to passenger transport, the 2023 edition was held for 2 days in Poiana Brașov, at the end of March (28-29).

The annual conference dedicated to passenger transport actually marked the end of a competition called RPTCY 2023 (Romanian Passenger Transport Company of the Year), and which meant for the Oradean company OTL an opportunity to stand out again among the more than 5800 transport companies of people from Romania. Following the judging, which included a diverse series of specific criteria, Oradea Transport Local was designated as the occupant of the 2nd place, urban transport category.

"Work and passion" - these were the reasons that impressed the jury and led it to award this recognition to the company from Oradea, which also stood out through the modern technologies implemented for passengers, through the well-developed strategies for attracting and retaining travelers, as and by constantly improving the quality of the service: comfort and safety through the purchase of high-performance fleets, reduced energy consumption, but also applications designed to ensure flexibility.

At the moment, we consider that we are one of the best-placed public transport companies in Romania, from the point of view of the age of the fleet we have at our disposal. We are also very well versed in all things digitization, e-ticketing, travel planning applications, information and all things subsequent management of the information that a tracking system gives you of the vehicle in real time, mounted on a tram or a bus. We do not claim to transport 100% of the city's population, but we must have a percentage between 25 and 35% using public transport. Local public transport is an indicator of the quality of life and cannot be behind the city. And if the city is developing faster than the other cities in Romania, it is natural to keep up with this development.

Another important aspect that mattered to the jury in awarding the award was the company's well-defined future plan: the development of a metropolitan train system, which would offer tram transport service in the neighboring communes, a line that would reach the center of the city, a project to purchase new trams, a project to completely modernize the tram depot, the construction of a new bus depot for electric fleets, especially since there is also the intention to purchase 40 such buses.

It should also be noted that Oradea is the only city in Romania that has participated in all editions of the European Tram Driving Competition, and in June of this year OTL will be the host of this event, which will benefit from guests from 25 European cities.