TEHRAN – A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between the Tehran Municipality and Iran Khodro car manufacturing company to meet part of the transport fleet’s need for 3,000 buses.

Tehran needs 3,000 buses to reduce waiting times at stops so that we will try to achieve this goal, Tehran Mayor Pirouz Hanachi has said.

“We signed a contract and a memorandum of understanding to renovate the transport fleet in the capital, the contract includes the production of 120 buses and 130 minibusses during the next 6 months, and the agreement includes 800 minibusses, buses, and electric buses.”

The government has allocated 1 trillion rials (nearly $23 million at the official rate of 42,000 rials) to repair Tehran's buses, Hanachi said, adding, buses are different from other means of transportation, and it is possible to completely retrofit them.

Mahmoud Tarafo’e, CEO of Tehran Bus Company, stated on Friday that currently, 62 percent of the capital's bus fleet is extremely old, adding that "If the current trend continues, Tehran's buses will operate for up to 6 more years.

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