The Belarusian mechanical engineering company Belkommunmash is working to sell electric buses to Tbilisi and Batumi, Deputy Chairman of the Minsk City Executive Committee Alexander Krepak reported.
Belkommunmash and the Tbilisi mass transit system operating company are expected to sign an agreement of intent to sell electric buses to the capital of Georgia and the city of Batumi during Minsk Days in Tbilisi. A course of action will be determined and Belarusian products will appear on the Georgian transport market, noted Alexander Krepak.
Experimental operation of the innovative transport is under consideration now. It will have to evaluate the performance of Belarusian electric buses in complicated terrain conditions. Further steps to develop the infrastructure will be assessed, too. Technical matters will be discussed during the forthcoming visit, said Alexander Krepak.
Belkommunmash is a leading manufacturer of ground electric transport for urban conditions in the CIS states. The company makes trolleybuses, tramcars, and electric buses. It is one of the resident companies of the free economic zone (FEZ) Minsk.
Due to the absence of harmful emissions, thanks to low noise levels and the use of clean sources of energy electric buses are deemed a green transport solution of the 21st century. Unlike trolleybuses electric buses do not need overhead power lines to get charged. Innovative solutions for mass transit have been sought for a long time due to heavy tailpipe pollution, frequent traffic jams, and the inability of trolleybuses to go round obstacles standing in the way. European countries concluded a long time ago that electric buses represented one of the preferred ways of development of mass transit systems in urban conditions. (BelTA/Business World Magazine)