Mar. 8 – 500 new BredaMenarini buses will head to Istanbul this year, thanks to a partnership between the Italian company and Turkey’s Karsan. The contracts were signed in the summer of 2012 by Karsan, the licensee of the brand BredaMenarinibus in Turkey, and IETT (Istanbul Electricity Tramway and Tunnel General Management), the transport company of the city of Istanbul. The agreement includes: the gradual delivery by mid-year of 500 vehicles, their spare parts, the full maintenance service five-year package, and the construction of CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) filling stations. The buses chosen for Istanbul are: a 12 meter natural gas (CNG Avancity + L) bus, and a 18-meter articulated diesel (Avancity + S) bus. Together, they will allow IETT to provide a level of service that meets European standards: both are characterized by low floor, EEV (Enhanced Environmentally Friendly Vehicles) engine, air conditioning, disabled access ramp and a transport capacity of 88 passengers and 156 passengers (on the 12m and 18m respectively). IETT also requested that the vehicles be equipped with internal lighting LED energy-saving, on-board computer and electronic tickets validator. The vehicles will be produced entirely in the BredaMenarinibus Karsan plant, located in Bursa, an establishment promoted by the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, similar in all regards to the plant of Bologna.
