More than half the buses plying the Tehran Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) network are dilapidated and add to air pollution in the megalopolis, begging for renovation, head of Tehran Bus Company says.
Peiman Sanandaji told YJC of 1,250 BRT buses in the capital around 700 were built more than a decade ago. "They should either be phased out or get repaired."
Close to 6,000 buses are in the Tehran public transportation fleet and more than 9,000 are needed for decent service.
Tehran Bus Rapid Transit was officially inaugurated in 2008 on eight routes to facilitate urban traffic.
The BRT system has a network of 150km transporting 1.8 million passengers daily.
The BRT lines expanded over time and according to Tehran Municipality the system currently consists of nine lines with 204 stations. The mapped BRT network has eleven lines, two of which are yet to become operational.
People and experts have repeatedly blamed Tehran’s nerve-racking traffic congestions and worsening air pollution largely on the inadequate and inefficient public transportation.
Tehran Municipality says buses account for 23% of urban transportation in the overcrowded metropolis which is home to 15 million people.
Besides the BRT, Tehran's public transportation system includes urban buses and taxis, and an expanding subway network which has five lines and moves millions of commuters every day in and around the rapidly expanding capital.
