Bucharest to have 100 new buses by year-end

Bucharest mayor Gabriela Firea signed on Tuesday, June 5, the contract for the 400 Euro 6 buses to be delivered by Turkish company Otokar Otomotiv. The first 100 buses will arrive to the capital by the end of this year, the mayor said, adding that the rest will be delivered by end-2019. The value of the transaction is of EUR 100 million plus VAT. “The buses come with air conditioning, intelligent charging system, GPS system that allows location in traffic and provides passengers with information on station waiting times and route guidance, they are accessible to all categories of passengers, and benefit from surveillance video both indoors and outdoors,” Gabriela Firea said. There are three types of buses, which will be put into circulation on different routes, namely 320 buses with a length of 12 m, which cost EUR 238,000/bus plus VAT, 50 buses of 10.7 m, which had a price of EUR 246,000/bus plus VAT, and 30 buses of 18 m, which cost EUR 364,000/bus plus VAT. The mayor also said that the City Hall also plans to buy 100 electric buses, 100 trams, 100 GNC buses and 100 trolleybuses. Otokar won the tender organized by the Bucharest City Hall for the 400 new buses in February this year. It competed with Turkish group Karsan Otomotiv and German groups Man Trucks & Bus and Mercedes Benz. Romanian city gets its first electric buses Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com (photo source: Gabriela Firea on Facebook)