The budget bill for the fiscal 2020-21 permits the issuance of participation bonds worth 80 trillion rials ($454.5 million) to finance the development of public transportation systems throughout the country, the head of Iran's Municipalities and Village Administrators said.
Mehdi Jamalinejad added that the resource is expected to give a helping hand to municipalities and urban managers to make a positive change in cities.
The budget is expected to be spent on completing urban transportation infrastructure, including expansion of subway, bus and taxi fleets, IMNA reported.
Jamalinejad said a large portion of the country’s public transportation system is dilapidated and ready to be phased out.
“Based on the latest data, there are 320,000 cabs currently operating across the country, more than half of which are rundown. Within six months, 190,000 taxis will be ready to head for the scrapyard," he said.
The number of passenger buses delivering services in urban areas has reached 22,000, of which 15,000 buses are over 15 years old.
Elaborating the status of railroad system in the country, Hossein Rajab-Salahi, a deputy head of Iran's Municipalities and Village Administrators, earlier said 840 kilometers of subway have so far been planned for Iranian metropolises, including Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz, Mashhad, Qom and Tabriz.
"Of the total length, 288 kilometers are presently operational, almost half of which is in the capital city of Tehran. In addition, 299 kilometers are under construction and 253 kilometers are undergoing feasibility studies," he said.
"Expanding clean modes of transportation will also help curb air pollution and ease traffic in sprawling megacities like Tehran."
Based on the latest data, 320,000 cabs are currently operating across the country, more than half of which are dilapidated. Within six months, 190,000 taxis will be ready to head for the scrapyard
Investing in subway expansion projects and purchasing new wagons, along with upgrading signaling, ventilation and power supply systems, will further improve public transportation.
Such projects to help alleviate air and environmental pollution are high on the agenda of the Iranian government and municipalities.
In line with development plans, the government is committed to upgrading the dilapidated and polluting urban bus fleet in all Iranian cities and earmarked 50 trillion rials ($284 million) in the current year’s budget for this purpose.
According to Jamalinejad, 30 trillion rials ($170.4 million) have been earmarked in the budget for the purchase of new buses and 20 trillion rials ($113.6 million) for the renovation of dilapidated vehicles.
Jamalinejad said 79% of public transport vehicles should be consigned to the scrapyard.
According to official reports, the number of new public vehicles added to the transport fleet in the past decade is negligible.
Tehran Initiatives
In late February, the government intended to use the National Development Fund to help Tehran Municipality buy 630 subway cars and 3,000 new buses.
The announcement was made in a meeting between Es’haq Jahangiri, first vice president, and Mohsen Hashemi, chairman of Tehran City Council, where they discussed ways of expanding the capital’s public transportation network.
Mohammad Alikhani, the head of TCC's Transportation Commission, later told reporters that the government will allocate the budget as soon as experts complete their estimation and select the supplier companies.
In late April, Shahrbanou Amani, a member of Tehran City Council, said the government is planning to add 1,500 domestically-made buses to the capital’s transport network.
Destructive Sanctions
In view of economic hardships facing Iran due to the reimposition of US sanctions, the renovation of transportation fleet faces a big hurdle, said Tehran Mayor Pirouz Hanachi.
The prices of new buses and minibuses have registered a threefold leap, just like any other commodity.
After US President Donald Trump unilaterally reneged on Iran’s nuclear accord and reimposed sanctions against Tehran in summer 2018, the Iranian rial lost almost 70% of its value over the past year.
On Wednesday, the US dollar was traded at 176,000 rials in Tehran while it hardly fetched 42,000 rials in March 2018.
Following the reimposition of sanctions, many foreign suppliers of vehicles and parts suspended collaboration with Iranian firms. The country cannot afford to import new buses in large numbers and local manufacturers do not have an adequate stockpile of parts to boost production.
These factors have derailed transportation fleet renovation schemes. However, with the help of the government and automakers, urban planners are devising solutions to implement these schemes. Only time will show whether these efforts have yielded the desired results.
