Samara prepares for FIFA World Cup 2018, deploys CNG bus fleet

GAZ Group, a member of Basic Element, has supplied 49 semi-low-floor LiAZ-529370 CNG buses to the city of Samara in Russia. Within the framework of the city fleet upgrade before the FIFA World Cup 2018, other 33 environmentally friendly LiAZ buses will be shipped to Samara by late March. The vehicles have a passenger capacity of min. 85 seats and special equipment for wheelchair access.

LiAZ vehicles have been used for many significant sports events. As a bus supplier of the Olympic Games in Sochi, GAZ Group produced 30 LiAZ-529230 buses for the Olympics 2014. Since completion of the Olympics, such buses have been used in Saint Petersburg. Also 709 tourist buses made by the manufacturer were used for transportation during the Olympics and now are used in the Moscow Region.

Oleg Fursov, Chief of the City Administration of Samara, said: “For the first time in 20 years, our city has received such a large bus batch. In the light of significant wear and tear of the Samara bus fleet, 82 new LiAZ buses are a great solution of some transportation problems of the city. We want to increase comfort of our citizens by further bus fleet upgrade”.

“Bus fleet upgrade in Samara is long-term program. We want to buy new buses on a yearly basis. In 2018, Samara will host some FIFA games, and we need upgrade our fleet to make it meet the Organizing Committee requirements,” added Nikolay Merkushin, Governor of the Samara Region.

https://www.ngvjournal.com/samara-prepares-for-fifa-world-cup-2018-deploys-cng-bus-fleet/