Tbilisi City Hall is currently in the process of making the largest publicly tendered government purchase of this year: Tbilisi is planning to buy 100 new passenger buses for up to GEL 55 million – GEL 550,000 per bus. This is the biggest electronically procured tender since Georgia introduced e-procurement in the beginning of 2011. The tender was published on November 4, the 5-day bidding period ends on November 25 at 16:00.

Several bidders have requested some clarifications on technical details of the buses that Tbilisi city hall is requiring in its tender documentation, using a forum feature of the e-procurement platform where suppliers can publicly ask questions that are then answered by the government procurement officer managing the tender. These requests for clarifications were also reflected in an updated document with the specifications of the buses and the obligations bidders have to fulfill. There are no indications that the documents are overly specific or are designed to favor a particular provider, TI Georgia found bus models from various producers that appear to be largely in line with the specifications required in the tender.

There is good news for Tbilisi residents: The newly purchase buses will run on compressed natural gas and have to fulfill at a minimum the Euro 5 emission standard, meaning that they will produce significantly fewer pollution than the diesel engines of the currently used buses.

Furthermore, the tender requires that all buses will have air conditioning (as well as several windows that can be opened). They will have no steps up and will be able to automatically lower themselves when standing at a bus stop, allowing elderly people, people with disabilities and passengers with babies to more easily enter them. One of the doors will also come with a ramp that will allow passengers in wheelchairs to enter the bus without having to rely too much on the help of others.

The buses are required to have a capacity of at least 85 passengers, with 25 to 35 seats and space for at least one wheelchair.

Each bus will have several surveillance cameras on board, the footage can be stored on the vehicle’s system for at least 96 hours.

The bus supplier will have to provide trainings for 200 drivers in using the new vehicles and provide a warranty period of 30 months or 150,000 kilometers (whichever occurs first) during which the company has to carry out all maintenance and servicing work of the buses free of charge.

The buses will be financed from the 2013 and 2014 budget, the first 20 buses shall be delivered before May 15, 2014, around the time the local elections are expected, with the remaining 80 to be delivered by the end of August of next year.