Substantial Saudi order is a first for German international manufacturer
SAUDI ARABIA At this year‘s UITP Global Public Transport Summit the Saudi Arabian bus operator SAPTCO (Saudi Public Transport Company) and the French public transport company RATP Dev (Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens) signed a contract for 242 MAN Lion’s City M city buses. Scheduled for delivery in 2018 and 2019 these will be the first MAN buses on the roads of the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh. MAN’s importer Haji Husein Alireza & Co. Ltd will manage delivery of these buses.
SAPTCO und RATP Dev have worked together as the joint-venture Public Transport Company (PTC) since 2014 and are in charge of building up a public transport network in Saudi-Arabia from scratch. Paris-based RATP Dev is responsible for operations, while SAPTCO takes over fleet management. The plan is to build a network of 100 routes with 1,000 vehicles.
MAN says that the Lion’s City M is designed to make travel enjoyable and efficient at the same time. The 242 low-floor city buses will be 10.5m long and feature Euro 5 290hp engines. Seating will be for 29 with ample legroom and they will have tinted windows and high-performance air-conditioning. Exterior and interior aspects of the vehicles are being especially adapted to meet customer requirements.
“We are excited to contribute to Saudi’s transport landscape with our state-of-the-art MAN Lion’s City buses connecting its people and cities,” said Franz von Redwitz, Managing Director MAN Truck & Bus Middle East. “And we are confident that we will be able to take our partnership to even greater success in the years to come.”
