Tbilisi Mayor: Yellow Buses Are Main Source of Air Pollution
By Tea Mariamidze
Thursday, June 14
Tbilisi Mayor, Kakha Kaladze stated at the City Hall sitting on June 13 that yellow buses are the main source of the air pollution in the capital.
Kaladze stated that in the coming days, the Mayor’s office will present a new Transport Policy, which will be aimed at solving the mentioned problem along with number of other issues.
“Yellow buses, minibuses and their exhaust cause serious problems for the environment. We need to tighten regulations in order to reduce car and bus emissions in the capital,” he said.
The Mayor says that along with public transport, old cars also pose threat to the ecology.
“The transport policy will be scheduled for several years and it will be a guideline for us, which problems we should solve first and when,” Kaladze added.
In late March the State Audit Office (SAO) of Georgia released the report, according to which, 86% of Tbilisi busses could not meet the standards of technical inspection.
According to SAO, there are 816 busses in the capital, out of which, 143 blue buses are new and do not have to undergo technical inspection. However, as for the rest 673 (yellow) buses, 456 ones failed the inspection.
The information says that most of the buses are faulty and they will fail the inspection, mainly due to their exhausted systems. Using such buses is not allowed by Georgian legislation.
SAO underscored that most of the buses are outdated, their repair is connected with major expenses, and they do not meet with the legislative norms in ecological terms.
In early April, Tbilisi Mayor’s Office announced that 100 new buses will be added to the public bus fleet in Tbilisi.
The City Hall added that Tbilisi will soon have a bus restructuring route plan, which will be one of the main documents for the development of public transportation for the capital city.
The French company Systra will develop a bus restructuring route plan, while the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will offer a grant for it.
Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze and the EBRD Director for the Caucasus, Moldova and Belarus, Bruno Balvanera have already signed the new grant agreement today in Tbilisi.
At present there are 143 new busses in Tbilisi.
The blue buses are better for the environment than the current yellow buses and operate in Tbilisi thanks to an agreement signed between one of the leading international providers of commercial vehicles, the Man Truck and Bus AG Company.
Blue Man busses are efficient and economical, as they run on compressed natural gas (CNG), meaning they are more energy efficient, produce reduced vehicle emissions and are cheaper to operate than diesel-equivalent buses.
Moreover, all new buses are adapted for people with disabilities.
