Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze was on a working visit to Munich on November 7, along with Deputy Irakli Bendeliani and the executives of “Tegeta Holding” company. The team met with representatives of MAN company in Munich and inspected the 18-meter buses intended for Tbilisi in the MAN exhibition hall.
During the meeting, 160 buses were bought by Tbilisi city. According to Mayor Kaladze, the introduction of buses will start from December.
“It is very important to develop and promote public transport,” he said. “The capital’s government is doing everything to make public transport accessible to everyone and for people to be able move freely. We see the challenges, we see the overcrowded buses. 18-meter buses will allow us to unload and transport more passengers. Over the past three years, we have completely renewed our public transport – the city has new buses and minibuses. The last stage was the introduction of 18-meter buses, which will be completed by the end of next year.
“This year, 50 units will arrive in Georgia in December and will serve the population of Tbilisi from the end of January. These buses will visually suit the city and will be an important component from the point of view of transporting passengers.”
MAN provides ongoing bus service with high-quality original auto parts and repair services. Those new buses are fully adapted for people with disabilities and equipped with modern technologies, including a voice system, and internal and external video monitoring systems.
It is planned to introduce 160 buses running on natural gas to Tbilisi, purchased by Tbilisi Municipality. By the end of 2024, Tbilisi will have 400 buses produced by MAN, which will be about 40% of the total bus fleet.
By Léa Montagne
