The Bucharest public transport operator RATB has launched a bid to equip the Mercedes Benz Euro 3 buses in its fleet with air conditioning, Agerpres reported.

The contract lasts for 24 months and amounts to RON 11 million (EUR 2.4 million), without VAT. A maximum of 150 buses will be equipped as part of the contract, which entails providing the products and the services for the upgrade with an HVAC system.

The contract will be awarded based on the lowest price criterion, and it will be paid from the local budget. The deadline for submitting offers is September 13, at 16:00. The deadline for evaluating the offers is October 9, at 18:00.

Bucharest mayor Gabriela Firea said last week that only half of the 1,000-bus fleet of RATB is equipped with AC. She added that she hoped this was the last year Bucharest residents would use public means of transportation without air conditioning.

The mayor also said that the renewal of the RATB fleet should have been done years ago.

“These are buses purchased ten years ago. We are now undertaking the bid to purchase 400 new buses, 100 trams and 100 trolleybuses, all of them modern, ultra-modern I can say, equipped with air conditioning, besides other technical facilities,” Firea said.

The Bucharest City Hall said in June it was looking to purchase 100 electric buses and their charging stations. The electric buses would run on public transport lines in Bucharest’s downtown and other crowded areas.

The City Hall’s plans for the public transport in the capital also include free Wi-Fi Internet access on all the buses, trams, and trolleybuses managed by RATB.

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editor@romania-insider.com