City Hall Makes 3rd Attempt This Year to Expand Bus Fleet

Tbilisi City Hall has plans to expand its fleet of modern city buses, with a budget of GEL 45 million (USD 18.4 mil). The plan was announced in April, and a tender for the purchase was released in May, calling for 90 new buses manufactured in 2018, matching the make and model of the existing MAN blue buses, with at least 23 passenger seats, wheelchair accessible, integrated heating and air-conditioning units, and video monitoring.

In May, the tender to supply the new buses failed to garner a single response. In June, the tender was released for a second time and the contract was won by MAN Truck and Bus AG, represented in Georgia by Tegeta Truck and Bus LLC, but the company was later disqualified. The tender is now released for the third time.

Currently Tbilisi has 816 buses, including 143 new blue buses, the first of which were introduced in September 2016. The blue buses are in line with European standards for safety and emissions and are accessible for people with disabilities. They have been praised by the public for their comfort and user-centered technology, including air conditioning, USB chargers on board, and safety censors at the doors.

Some details have been revised in the third version of the tender – previously, the maximum mileage for the buses was 2800 km, and now it has been extended to 5000 km. The warranty period was also increased to 24 months from 12 months. The company supplying the buses is now required to have 15 years of experience and have supplied at least 300 buses worldwide, less than the previous 600 required.

The new buses are part of Tbilisi’s new transportation strategy, outlined by Mayor Kakha Kaladze last month, which is slated to include extended hours for public transport after midnight.

By Samantha Guthrie

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