Dubai – Mubasher: Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has awarded an AED 465m contract for buying 316 multi-size buses.
In a bid to keep pace with the expansion of inter-city bus service to Abu Dhabi and the northern cities, the contract involves the procurement of 143 deluxe VOLVO coaches, RTA chairman Mattar Al Tayer said in a statement.
The purchase order also includes 79 double-deck MAN buses to serve urban areas with high-density riders, in addition to 94 medium-sized OPTARE buses that will be used to serve new communities, he added.
Accommodating 55 riders each and offering free internet service, USB portals for charging mobile phones, the inter-City VOLVO coaches are equipped with Euro 5 and Euro 6 power efficient engines with low carbon emissions, Dubai's state-run utility noted.
"The procurement of the new buses is part of a master plan set out to upgrade mass transit systems in Dubai and keep them aligned with the highest global practices...It conforms to RTA’s endeavours to make public transport the ideal mobility choice of people and push the share of public transport in people mobility to as much as 30% by 2030," the RTA's chairman highlighted.
Al Tayer further revealed that the Double-Deck MAN bus can accommodate 100 riders and is fitted with free internet service and USB portals for charging mobile phones.
The mid-sized OPTARE buses, which mark a debut for this type of buses in the RTA’s bus fleet, can accommodate 33 riders each.
