An expectation that seems to be delayed for after the election means the completion of the tender for the supply of 650 new green buses in Athens and Thessalonikia process that, when and if completed, will renew its aging fleet JACA and his OSTECH. This is a tender that was announced in October 2021, but is still ongoing, having “passed through” various adventures, such as contesting parts of the tender by participants, appealing the evaluation of financial proposals, expelling participants, etc. .

The fact that the tender concerns a large number of vehicles led to the decision to “split” it into five sections in which interested parties applied. Of course, some parts of the tender are at a more advanced stage than others, while the first part of the procurement Buses hybrid technology has been declared sterile since May 2022.

In particular, parts of the tender for the supply of 250 simple 12-meter electric city buses and 100 18-meter compressed natural gas (CNG) buses are in the final stage. In the first case, Yutong Bus, represented by the Kopelouzou group, was announced as the contractor for the supply of 250 buses, the corresponding contract is already in the Accounts Chamber. Sources in the Ministry of Transport note that some additional clarifications were requested and answered, which set the stage for his approval.

Of course, the presentation of the contract to the new parliament is also expected. Thus, it is assumed that six months after the signing of the new buses will arrive in our country. The Italian-French company Iveco, which is represented in Greece by the Kontelli group, has been announced as the contractor for the supply of 100 CNG buses, with a corresponding contract also in the Court of Accounts. Other sections of the competition are progressing more slowly. In particular, the tender commission accepted the technical proposal of the Turkish-Italian company Industria Italiana Autobus for the supply of 200 ordinary city buses powered by natural gas, and the evaluation of the technical and financial proposal of the Chinese BYD for the supply of 100 electric buses to two organizations waiting for 12-meter city vehicles.

Meanwhile, the charging infrastructure is a problem electric buses. OASA in collaboration with DADDI a plan is being developed to develop the charging infrastructure. His sources OSI reports that the company’s three train stations (Renti, Ruf, Attiki) are conducting studies on the connection and placement of chargers, with management optimistic that, based on the project, the charging infrastructure will be ready to welcome new buses. After the completion of all of the above, the goal of the current management of the Ministry of Transport was to advance the supply of an appropriate number of buses in the second stage, while there are plans to include hydrogen buses in the fleet, which is launched from 2027.