Tehran Municipality has urged the government to pay 40 trillion rials ($148.15 million) for the renewal of public transportation in the capital by the end of the current Iranian year (March 2021).
Mohammad Alikhani, the head of the Transportation Commission of Tehran City Council, underlined the government’s mounting debts to TM and said, “The current economic hardships do not justify the government’s irresponsibility in fulfilling its promises and parliament-ratified laws,” Tasnim News Agency Reported.
According to the current fiscal year’s budget, the government is obliged to pay 80 trillion rials ($296.3 million) for boosting public transportation in Tehran.
“The government has so far paid half the budget. We hope that the payment of the remaining amount is not disregarded or put off to the last minute,” Alikhani said.
“Apart from the ratified budget bill, the government has committed to pay 60% of revenues accruing from traffic tickets and other fines to TM.”
The councilor said the government has refused to pay TM’s share of the income for over 10 years, compelling Tehran’s former mayor, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, to complain against the government, adding that the government is yet to settle its debts.
He added that last year’s total income from the aforementioned resources was estimated at 7 trillion rials ($25.92 million).
The share of municipality out of the sum was 4.2 trillion rials ($15.5 million), out of which only 300 billion rials ($1.1 million) were paid to the municipality.
The councilor also said that the government has almost forgotten to pay TM the parking revenues and 300 billion rials ($1.1 million) in subsidy for Tehran subway tickets.
Last week, Tehran Mayor Pirouz Hanachi wrote a letter to the office of Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, asking for a solution or help.
Alikhani told reporters that the letter includes a comprehensive account of TM’s situation and asks the Leader to either authorize the municipality to draw from the National Development Fund or notify the government to clear its debts.
Delay in Urban Bus Fleet Upgrade
Iranian urban managers’ struggle to upgrade the public transport fleet has been delayed by the country’s sanction-induced and Covid-19 afflicted economic problems.
On the occasion of National Transportation Safety Day (April 26), Alikhani said the capital city’s public transport system faces serious shortcomings that will not be obviated even in two decades, if policymaking processes and budget management are not overhauled.
To address the thorny issue, officials resorted to different strategies that have not always produced the desired result.
TM is prodding the government of President Hassan Rouhani to invest in public transportation so that urban managers could add 1,000 new buses to the capital’s public transportation fleet by the end of the fiscal year (March 2021).
According to Manaf Hashemi, TM’s deputy for traffic and transportation affairs, the overhaul of 2,000 aging buses is also pending.
Underlining the government’s role in the overhaul plan, Hashemi said, “The government and the private sector have promised to finance the restoration project and work is expected to begin soon.”
As per the arrangement, TM will first send 200 dilapidated buses to repair centers, he added.
Mahmoud Tarfa, the CEO of Tehran Bus Company, said that of the total 6,000 buses operating in the city’s transport fleet, about 70% are over 12 years old and dilapidated.
These old buses have numerous technical problems and cause inconvenience to passengers, apart from worsening air pollution that is already suffocating Tehran’s residents.
Economic Headwinds
Considering the economic hardships facing Iran due to the reimposition of US sanctions, the pace of the renovation of the transportation fleet has slowed.
After US President Donald Trump reneged on Iran’s nuclear accord and reimposed sanctions against Tehran last summer, the Iranian rial lost almost 70% of its value over the past year.
On Wednesday, the US dollar was traded at 270,000 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, as the prices of new passenger vehicles and eco-friendly motorcycles have seen a threefold jump, just like any other commodity.
This is while domestic manufacturers do not have an adequate volume of parts to boost production.
These factors have derailed schemes for overhauling the transportation fleet. However, with the help of the government and automakers, urban planners are devising solutions to implement these schemes.
The commitment of officials concerned and the timely allocation of funds will ensure that these efforts bear fruit.
