October 30, 2020
The Tehran bus system is finally about to get an infusion of new vehicles to alleviate the problems of its largely decrepit fleet.
Manaf Hashemi, the city’s deputy director for traffic and transportation, said 120 buses and 130 minibuses, made by Iran Khodro, are about to be added, with the first 22 to be delivered in November.
Iran Khodro said it has resumed bus production after a decade-long halt. Another 800 vehicles—500 buses and 300 minibuses—can be delivered before Now Ruz, if financing is made available by the national government and municipality.
According to the Tehran Bus Company, 6,500 buses are operating in the transportation fleet of Tehran, more than half of which are dilapidated. This is while the capital needs at least 9,000 buses to offer decent transportation services to the public.
No one has said whether the new buses will replace decrepit buses or be added to the total fleet. But the Ministry of Industries said it has started a program under which 1,000 Tehran buses and 1,000 buses from provincial cities will be overhauled.