Tehran Municipality has recently issued participatory bonds worth 15 trillion rials ($68.1 million) to help expand the capital’s public transportation system, the head of Tehran City Council’s Transportation Commission said.
Mohammad Alikhani also told semi-official news agency YJC that the city council acquired the permit to issue participatory bonds last year.
In August 2019, Tehran Mayor Pirouz Hanachi announced that the municipality was allowed to issue 300 trillion rials ($1.36 billion) worth of participatory bonds for overhauling Tehran’s public transportation network, especially its subway and public bus fleet.
“Of the total amount, the bank paid only a small portion to the company, leaving the rest for the last days of the issuance period,” Alikhani said.
The TCC official added that urban managers have planned to put the money earned from bonds into the restoration of the capital’s ailing bus fleet and production of 1,000 new buses by the end of the next Iranian year (March 2022).
Alikhani noted that the development of unfinished subway lines will continue concurrently.
The capital's subway stretches over 220 kilometers and comprises seven lines (1 to 7) with nearly 120 stations. Lines 3, 6 and 7 are yet to become fully operational.
“Tehran Metro and TM had planned to launch 12 subway stations by the current [fiscal] yearend [March 2020]. The plan was halted by financial shortfalls but it is hoped that with the injection of money, promises will be fulfilled,” he said.
Alikhani hoped the Interior Ministry will allocate 30 trillion rials ($136.3 million) of bonds to Tehran Municipality in the current Iranian year (started March 20) to continue overhauling the transport system in the capital city.
Financial Deficit
Speaking at TCC’s meeting last week, Alikhani said the unfinished subway network in the capital city of Tehran needs 2 quadrillion rials ($9.09 billion) for the construction of unfinished lines, purchase of train cars and standardization of equipment.
He added that due to the negative effects of US sanctions since the summer of 2018, Iran’s rial is losing value against hard currencies, making it a tough task to expand and renew the ailing public transportation in Tehran.
Since the US reimposed sanctions against Iran in 2018, the rial has lost 70% of its value against the greenback over the past year. On Saturday, the US dollar was traded at 220,000 rials in Tehran while it hardly fetched 42,000 rials in March 2018.
“A train wagon cost 50 billion rials a couple of years ago, but now the price reaches 200 billion rials, which Tehran Municipality cannot afford at present,” he added.
Speaking at the meeting, Mohsen Hashemi, the head of TCC, expressed disquiet over Tehran subway shortfalls and said, “While the subway lines have been extended around the city by 80 kilometers in the past several years, not enough trains have been added to the metro network.”
Hashemi noted that for each kilometer of the subway, there was 1.1 train wagons.
“Today, the figure has fallen by 30%, which means that for each kilometer of operating subway line, there is 0.8 train cars,” he added.
Current Shortcomings
The challenging task of developing the subway system in Iranian metropolises has raised concerns among urbanists. They blame mismanagement and lack of budget for the slow progress.
Urban officials believe that the capital city’s subway system faces serious shortcomings that will not be obviated even in two decades, if policymaking processes and budget management are not overhauled.
The subway network still lacks 3,000 train cars to facilitate 10 million daily travels. There are around 1,300 train wagons currently operating in Tehran’s subway, 30% of which need to be upgraded.
In addition, according to Mahmoud Tarfa, the CEO of Tehran Bus Company, of the total 6,000 buses operating in the city’s transport fleet, over 70% are dilapidated, aging over 12 years.
These old buses have numerous technical flaws and cause inconvenience to passengers, apart from worsening air pollution suffocating Tehran’s residents.
TM expects the number of commuters to surge by 25% after subway lines 6 and 7 are up and running, and more buses join the public transportation fleet.
But this is definitely not sufficient for Tehran where, according to pre-coronavirus statistics, over 10 million people commute daily, many from the surrounding cities and towns.
However, Tehran is not the only city facing public transportation deficiencies. Reports show Isfahan, Mashhad and Alborz, other Iranian metropolises, are also grappling with the same problems.
