Iran’s public transport fleet comprises around 430,000 vehicles, including urban and intercity buses, minibuses and taxis, of which 80% have outlived their usefulness, the National Traffic Police Chief said.
General Kamal Hadianfar added that the transportation fleet is entangled with public safety and health, so streamlining the sector should be placed high on the authorities’ agenda, ISNA reported.
“We need to overhaul the dilapidated vehicles and modernize the facilities. Unfortunately, the government has shown little willingness to take action,” he added.
Referring to the Clean Air Act, the official reminded that the government is legally obliged to renew the public transport fleet for reducing air pollution in metropolises.
The 35-article CAA, drawn up by Iran’s Department of Environment and passed by the parliament in July 2017, never saw its full enactment.
Going into the act’s details, Hadianfar said CAA discusses two sources of air pollution, namely mobile and stationary, offering solutions for each.
He called on the newly-elected government to prioritize the revival of the key sector, which requires the supply of quality and economical auto parts, as well as a little more sympathy.
Tehran’s Buses
The issue of dilapidated vehicles has become more complicated in the capital city of Tehran, due to the growing population and the surging number of people using the public transport system.
According to Mahmoud Tarfa, the head of Tehran Bus Company, the city’s transportation fleet requires 7,000 new, high-quality buses to deliver adequate mobility services to the public.
He 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.
“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 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 weeks later. The remaining 40 buses are planned to join the fleet by the near future,” he added.
The TBC chief stressed that although such renewals can help restore the ailing fleet, larger projects are required for a major revival of the system.
“Around 5,700 buses are operating in the city, over half of which is at least 12 years old and ready to be phased out. The remaining vehicles are by no means efficient and only usable for a short period,” he said.
Tarfa noted that the transportation fleet has failed to attract private investors, “because investors seek productivity and profit, which cannot be found in the transportation sector”.
The sector has a limited budget and operational capacity, while the dilapidation of vehicles has incurred losses, he added.
Perpetual Challenge
Streamlining the dilapidated bus fleet in the capital has posed a perpetual challenge for officials, compelling them to take more efficient actions.
Following a recent effort to make things right with the capital’s public transport, Iran’s Vice President for Science and Technology has launched a joint initiative with the University of Tehran for converting diesel- and gas-powered buses operating in the capital city into electric vehicles.
According to Shahriar Zaini, the head of Space Technologies Development Center at the vice presidential office, the project is aimed at revamping the aging public transportation fleet and curbing air pollution in the city.
The project entails the replacement of the vehicles’ combustion components with electric engine system, performance optimization and weight reduction.
“Up to 80% of electric parts, including drive system, engines, batteries, DC converters and chargers, have been locally produced in collaboration with Iranian knowledge-based companies,” he said.
“This is a revolutionary move in the country’s transportation sector and a great investment opportunity,” he said, calling on private entities and state institutions to propel the plan with financial support.
In late January, Tehran Municipality declared that it plans to spend 5 trillion rials ($20 million) on new buses to streamline the dilapidated bus fleet in the capital.
Tarfa had also said earlier that TM has issued participatory bonds worth 15 trillion rials ($60 million), one-third of which or $21.2 million are to be used for upgrading the bus fleet and the rest will be invested on subway development.
“Besides the bonds, the municipality will also open up its coffers to expedite the bus fleet renewal,” he said.
Hard Times
In view of the economic hardships facing Iran due to the reimposition of US sanctions, the renovation of transportation fleet is facing difficulties.
The price of new passenger vehicles has seen a threefold jump, just like any other commodity.
After US ex-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 Saturday, the US dollar was traded at 250,000 rials in Tehran while it hardly fetched 42,000 rials in March 2018.
Following the 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 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 and the timely allocation of funds will ensure these efforts yield the desired result.
