Khalid Al Ghurair Establishment has won the tender via a joint venture with Solaris, to supply a total of 225 buses to the Road & Transport Authority, in its latest initiative to introduce additional city buses and meet the growing demand of public transport. RTA has announced in the autumn of last year a tender for the supply of a total of 620 city buses. Deliveries are scheduled to commence in J
anuary 2008, with the order due to be completed in the middle of 2008. The total value of the contract in the United Arab Emirates currency is over 500 million dirhams (over 112 million euros). Due to the sheer size of the contract, RTA plans to build new bus depots to ease the commuting and improve the frequency of the buses. Apart from the supply of the actual buses, Solaris is also contracted for the servicing of the buses over the next five years. The Solaris service station will be housed within the RTA bus facilities. Local technicians have been employed to look after the Bolechowo-built buses, servicing and training will be carried out by a group of Solaris Bus & Coach specialists from Poland. The batch of 225 Solaris buses for the RTA will comprise two models. The Solaris fleet in Dubai will include 150 Solaris Urbino 18 articulated buses and 75 Solaris Urbino 12 units. Due to special climate and cultural demands, these buses will have a number of special features to suit these demands. One such feature is the ladies and family section, especially enclosed within the interior. This means that the area between the front door and the second door is separated from the rest of the vehicle by means of glass partitions. This section is designed for the use by women, children and families only. All labels, legends and descriptions on the driver's instrument panel and legends next to all passenger buttons will be given in two languages, Arabic and English. Also the messages in the passenger information system will be displayed both in Arabic and English. The buses will be fitted with a monitoring system. Other innovative features include special engine protection against excessive dust and sand storm effects. For the same reasons selected air conditioning equipment will be fitted with special high performance filters. With the summer conditions in Dubai, where maximum temperatures may near 45°C, it has been deemed necessary to fit special "air curtains" (with cold air) above the entrances to prevent hot air from entering the vehicle. The buses will be powered by DAF diesel engines. The Solaris Urbino 12 will feature 228 kW power units, while the Solaris Urbino 18 articulated buses will be fitted with more powerful 265 kW engines. This will be a special batch of engines specially tailored to run on fuel with higher sulphur content as used in the United Arab Emirates. Commenting on the development, Mr. Khalid Al Ghurair - Chairman of - Khalid Al Ghurair & Solaris said, "With the growth of Dubai in recent years, it has become imperative to introduce modern bus transport solutions. Khalid Al Ghurair Establishment is very previleged to be a part of this comprehensive plan to develop the public transport for safer and smoother commuting. This initiative is expected to have a major impact in further increasing usage of the city's public bus system and reducing traffic congestion.
