M a r k e t N e w s
Double Decker Buses Come to Ethiopia
Posted on : Monday, 4th December 2017
Ethiopia will have Double-Decker buses to be used for public transport for the first time. The 50 buses which were ordered by the Addis Ababa City Administration will have 80 seated passengers and up to 60 standing. They are assembled in Bishoftu by the Metals and Engineering Corporation (MeTEC). The buses are three meters high and eight meters long.
The design of the high capacity buses, which promise opportunities for local vehicle assemblers, has been approved by the Ethiopian Bureau of Standards and the Ministry of Transport.
Each bus has seats for people with disabilities including four 32 inch televisions, a security camera and air conditioner.
From the 50 buses that are being assembled, 25 are for Anbessa Bus and the remaining for Sheger bus public transport. They will cost the same to ride as other buses.
The spare parts will be imported from China and the body will be made in Ethiopia which will create job opportunities for at least 200 people.
Marketing and Public Relations officer of MeTEC, Captain Yekunuamlak Tesfaye, said that all of the 50 buses will be completed and will be operational before the end of Ethiopian year.
“The great advantages of these buses are that they will reduce space of the car on the road, which ultimately reduces traffic congestion.’’
According to Captain Yekunuamlak, the Double-Decker buses are part of the 850 buses that were ordered by the Addis Ababa City Government via a 3.4 billion birr agreement.
From the 850 buses 200 are for Sheger, 800 are for Anbessa Bus and 100 are slated to become school buses which are expected to join the road in the next nine months.
Double-decker buses can be found in several locations in Africa, such as Alexandria in Egypt and Johannesburg (Metrobus), City of Tshwane, and Cape Town (Golden Arrow Bus Services) in South Africa.
Source : bizmap
