Tehran Bus Fleet in Dire Need of Repair, Renewal

Tehran’s transportation fleet requires 7,000 new high-quality buses to deliver adequate mobility services to the public, the head of Tehran Bus Company said.
Mahmoud Tarfa added that 50% of the buses operating in Tehran’s fleet, accounting for 3,500 vehicles, are dilapidated and in dire need of repair or replacement, Hamshahri Online reported.
“Over one million citizens commute in the capital by bus every day. The sudden exclusion of old vehicles from the fleet will cause capacity deficiency and problems in terms of social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
“TBC needs state support to boost its services and meet the urban mobility demands. However, in the past several years, Tehran Municipality has been the only institution making efforts in this regard.”
Tarfa explained that since 2016, the government has not extended fiscal support for public transportation and the TM has been single-handedly and slowly streamlining the transport fleet. 
“Last summer, the municipality signed an agreement with Iran Khodro Company for manufacturing 250 buses for Tehran’s transport system. A hundred buses were delivered to TBC in November 2020 and another 110 vehicles were delivered on Saturday. The remaining 40 buses are planned to join the fleet by the current [fiscal] yearend [March].”
The TBC chief noted that although such renewals can help restore the ailing fleet, larger projects are required for a major revival of the system.