St. Petersburg’s Passazhiravtotrans will acquire 293 large-class buses through a leasing agreement with a maximum price of 5.7 billion rubles. The auction for the procurement was announced on June 2nd.

The diesel-engine buses, each no more than 12.5 meters in length and with a passenger capacity of at least 97, are to be leased until August 31, 2028.

A total of 30 buses must be delivered by August 31 of this year, 50 by September 30, 97 by October 31, 96 by November 30, and the final 20 by December 31.

The purchase will be partially funded by a subsidy from the federal budget, designed to make the leasing of rolling stock more accessible to regions.

Previously, St. Petersburg acquired 350 buses for 9 billion rubles under a similar leasing agreement involving federal funds through the State Transport Leasing Company (GTLK).

In May, tenders were held for 60 electric buses, with MAZ winning by reducing the maximum cost by 40%. MAZ may supply approximately a hundred vehicles for 3 billion rubles.