Yerevan Mayor Confirms Purchase of 161 Units of 8.5-Meter Buses

It is well known that the British company WYG has designed a new bus network for us, according to which we should have 850 buses, 450 of which should be 7.5-8.5 meter buses, while the rest will be 12 and 18 meter buses. This was stated today, February 12, at an extraordinary session of the Yerevan Council by Mayor Hayk Marutyan.

"At this moment, we are confirming the purchase of 161 units of 8.5-meter buses. This has required quite a long and difficult effort. Under the current conditions, many entrepreneurs are afraid to sign contracts, whether at the community or state level, but we have come and assured that we will fulfill our obligations, and they will also deliver the supplies. The program should be continuous. Also, together with the EBRD and the government, we have not been able to hold the tender for the purchase of 12-meter buses even once. Another tender has been announced, which will be opened on March 31. Hopefully, it will take place this time. Here we are talking about 100 units of 12-meter buses," he said.

According to Marutyan, the implementation of this program will allow us to eliminate minibuses, which are both dangerous and problematic, as well as inconvenient. "We want to eliminate minibuses with this first step." The mayor added that 7.5-8.5 meter buses are produced 95 percent only in China. "The production of buses in China has advanced significantly, and in many German, Swedish, and Dutch cities, tenders are won by Chinese buses, especially electric ones, passing the quality tests of many European manufacturers. For us, it is not about which country produces them, but about which parameters they meet, and we have set high parameters. We have received quite a good price for these quality buses. If the deal goes through, I will consider it the best acquisition for Yerevan."