Next stop Los Angeles: Tartu debuts unique Olympic electric bus
Tartu's first electric city bus took its maiden trip Friday, and the theme was the upcoming Los Angeles Olympics.
The genesis of the idea came at the Sports and Olympic Museum, located in Tartu, and the project became a reality in cooperation with the city government.
"Behind me is the world's first Olympic-themed city bus," museum board member Siim Randoja said at the unveiling ceremony on Friday lunchtime which took place in the Old Town.
The bus places Tartu firmly on the international map of Olympic cities, Randoja added. "That is a very prestigious list to be part of," he noted.
Tartu Mayor Urmas Klaas (Reform), also present at the ceremony, concurred, saying: "Tartu is home to the largest and most exciting sports museum in the Baltics. Athletes from Tartu have gone to the Olympics and will continue to do so. And Olympic values are certainly also Tartu's values."
Also at the ceremony and on board for the inaugural journey was Olympic medalist Gerd Kanter, who currently serves as vice president of the Estonian Olympic Committee (EOK). Kanter was full of praise for the initiative, expressing a hope that passengers will choose a different seat each day, to become acquainted with a different and new Olympic factoid – each seat is labeled with something interesting about the games, both globally and with regard to Estonia's participation.
Kanter, who took discus gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, also quizzed Mayor Klaas about such day-to-day issues as Tartu's winter road maintenance and Bolt e-scooter use in the town, and went on to
The first ever journey for the new e-bus took it from Town Hall Square up the hill to the train station, then towards Kreutzwaldi tänav and finally back to Town Hall Square, via Vabaduse pst.
The XXXIVth Olympic Games take place in Los Angeles in summer 2028. This is the third time the city has hosted the games: The first time came way back in 1932, while the more recent 1984 games were boycotted by the Soviet Union, meaning Estonian athletes would not have been able to compete. Four years later in Seoul, and cyclist Erika Salumäe took gold in the sprint event, along with several other medal winners from Estonia.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
