Turkish group wins Bucharest’s tender for 400 new buses

Bucharest City Hall will buy 400 new buses from Turskish group Otokar Europe, mayor Gabriela Firea announced on Monday, February 19. The contract has a final value of EUR 100 million plus VAT, namely an average price of EUR 250,000 plus VAT for each bus, Firea added. Some 300 of the 400 new buses will be delivered in the following year. Otokar Europe has won the tender organized by the City Hall, in which it competed with Turkish group Karsan Otomotiv and German groups Man Trucks & Bus and Mercedes Benz. Otokar is a subsidiary of Koc Holding, which also controls the biggest appliance factory in Romania, Arctic Gaesti. The Bucharest mayor also said on Monday that the City Hall plans to modernize the bus and tram stops, which look “deplorable”. She added that automatic vending machines will replace all public transport ticket booths. editor@romania-insider.com