68 Cities’ Public Transport Fleets to Get a Major Boost

Iran’s ailing public transportation will soon get a boost with 5,000 dilapidated buses being overhauled in 68 cities, the deputy head of Plan and Budget Organization said.
During a Tuesday meeting in Tehran, PBO officials, mayors of the 68 cities and Omid Entrepreneurship Fund signed a contract for servicing the old buses, Tasnim News Agency reported.
Based on the deal, the fund will pay cheap loans worth 2.24 billion rials ($8,000) to bus owners. The loans will be offered with a 4% interest rate and a repayment period of five years. 
The remaining expenses are to be covered by municipalities and owners. Further details will be announced by the authorities later.
“Of the total number of buses covered by the scheme, 1,700 will be revamped from the capital city of Tehran and Isfahan, 1,600 from Karaj, Ahvaz and Kermanshah and the rest from other cities,” Hamid Pour-Mohammadi, a PBO deputy, said.
“The restoration scheme is to improve public transportation services in metropolises, increase the employment rate in the sector, improve ventilation systems that benefits passengers, especially during the Covid-19 outbreak, help curb the suffocating air pollution, increase the efficiency of fuel consumption and boost transportation safety.”