Tbilisi City Hall to buy 300 new mini buses
Tbilisi City Hall has plans to fully replace the current outdated fleet of marshrutkas. Photo: RFE/RL.
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Tbilisi City Hall will open a tender in the coming days to purchase 300 new mini buses (marshrutkas) for the capital city with the money transferred from the state budget, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze stated earlier today.
He said that Tbilisi City Hall had plans to fully replace the current, outdated fleet of mini buses. However, the economic crisis sparked by the coronavirus pandemic made it impossible for now.
Kaladze said that due to the pandemic Tbilisi municipality suffered about 150 million GEL in losses.
We will receive funds as a transfer from the central budget and will be able to buy 300 buses at the first stage,” Kaladze said.
Kaladze stated at the end of last year that Tbilisi City Hall would allocate funds for the purchase of new vehicles, as the private company which is operating marshrutkas, Tbilisi Minibus Company, faces financial problems.
He stated that when the company overcomes the crisis they will have to buy new mini buses.
Tbilisi Minibus Company, which has been operating a yellow mini bus fleet in the capital city since 2011, requested Tbilisi City Hall earlier in 2019 to allow an increase in current fare by 20-30 tetris for them to replace outdated vehicles and ensure better service.
The appeal came after the demand of Kaladze regarding the replacement of the mini-bus fleet as “they are polluting the environment and are not comfortable for passengers.”
Current fare for one-way travel, on long routes, is 80 tetris and on short routes - 50 tetris.
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Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze has stated that an agreement has been made with Tbilisi Minibus Company through which the outdated fleet will be replaced starting next year without an increase in fare.
Tbilisi Minibus company, which has been operating a yellow mini bus fleet (marshutkas) in the capital city since 2011 has requested Tbilisi City Hall to allow the increase in current fare by 20-30 tetries for them to replace outdated vehicles and ensure better service.
The current outdated fleet of yellow minibuses (marshrutkas) in the Georgian capital city of Tbilisi will soon be replaced by 300 new Ford minibuses that will appear in the city step-by-step six months, announces Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze.
A total of 180 new minibuses will start serving passengers in the Georgian capital city of Tbilisi starting Monday, February 22, announces Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze. Kaladze said that the plan is to replace the current outdated fleet of yellow minibuses (marshrutkas) in Tbilisi with 300 new Ford minibuses.