Development of public transportation in the Iranian capital city, Tehran, has turned into a challenge for officials struggling with a budget crunch.
However, officials are determined to overcome the hurdles and find a way out of the mounting financial troubles.
Speaking to ISNA, Tehran Mayor Pirouz Hanachi said work is underway to add wagons to the subway network and upgrade buses in the city’s public transport fleet.
Earlier in December 2019, the government was planning to use the facilities of the National Development Fund of Iran to help Tehran Municipality buy 630 train cars and 3,000 new buses.
Es’haq Jahangiri, first vice president, and Mohsen Hashemi, chairman of Tehran City Council, had made arrangements during a meeting on expansion of capital’s public transportation.
The government was supposed to transfer the budget as soon as experts estimate the price and select the supplier companies.
However, according to Hanachi, "the purchase of subway wagons has been put on hold, as the Central Bank of Iran should first make arrangements with the Chinese supplier company".
Consequently, the municipality signed an agreement with Omid Entrepreneurship Fund to allocate 12.5 trillion rials ($80 million) in cheap loans for overhauling the aging and inefficient public transportation fleet, including the repair and replacement of dilapidated taxis, minibuses, buses and passenger vans.
Weighing Electric Vehicle Option
Emphasizing the fact that in a polluted metropolis like Tehran, transportation should be more eco-friendly and pursue zero emission, Hanachi said work is on track to induct electric buses to reduce the carbon footprint of the transport fleet.
According to Tehran’s mayor, the purchase of new electric buses is not feasible at present, considering the fact that US sanctions have strictly limited Iran's ties with foreign automakers, so the only remaining option is to rely on the domestic potentials.
In August 2019, Tehran Bus Company announced that a new electric bus line will be launched in Tehran's District 12, connecting Shoush to Rah-Ahan Square in the eastern part of the city.
According to TBC, 15 electric buses will resume services after undergoing a complete overhaul.
The officials said the required infrastructures, including signage and power cables, are being installed.
“The zero-emission vehicles will not only ease the traffic burden in the overcrowded District 12, but will also help curb air pollution in the sprawling capital,” the mayor said.
"If everything goes right and the plans become operational, a large part of drawbacks in the public transportation system will be curbed."
Hanachi said since Nov. 15, 2019—when the government rationed and tripled fuel prices—authorities have stressed that the revenue saved will be spent on people's welfare in different areas, one of which is public transportation.
He called on government bodies to fulfill their promise and support TM in upgrading the dilapidated bus fleet and equipping the subway system.
Current Status
According to TM, 1,250 subway cars are currently operating in the capital's subway system, 30% of which need to be upgraded.
The capital's subway stretches over 220 kilometers and comprises seven lines (1 to 7) with nearly 120 stations. Lines 6 and 7 are yet to become fully operational.
Some four million people use the subway daily and TM expects the number to surge by 25% after subway lines 6 and 7 come on stream.
But this is definitely not enough for Tehran where, according to statistics, over 15 million people commute daily, many from the surrounding cities and towns.
The number of buses operating in Tehran hardly reaches 6,000 which, according to experts, are half the number required for offering acceptable transportation services.
Experts say the average age of the fleet is over 11 years, such that 50% of the buses plying the streets of Tehran are dilapidated and fit for the scrap-yard.
These old buses have numerous technical problems and cause inconvenience to passengers, apart from worsening the air pollution and suffocating Tehran’s residents.
Positive Measures
According to Peyman Sanandaji, the head of TBC, since the beginning of the current fiscal year (March 21, 2019), 100 buses have been repaired.
"The engines of cooling and heating systems have been upgraded," he added.
Additionally, in mid-June 2019, 13 buses and 117 minibuses produced by domestic automakers, such as Iran Khodro, Bahman Khodro and Sabalan Khodro, were added to the public transportation fleet to upgrade the aging transportation network of Tehran.
Last summer, TM announced the restoration of 500 dilapidated buses that had outlived their usefulness.
“Inefficient public transportation fleet is one of the worst problems afflicting the residents of Tehran. Addressing the issue is high on the municipality’s agenda,” Hanachi said at the time.
While constructive measures to ameliorate the situation are gaining momentum, these are inadequate to overhaul Tehran’s dilapidated bus and taxi fleets, or streamline its subway network.
