French-donated buses to be put into service in upcoming days

"It is like realizing a dream," a physically disabled man said about boarding one of the French-donated buses, which will go into operation in a few days. These buses were long-awaited to be seen on the roads.

However, 28 drivers from the Office of Railways and Public Transport will operate these buses in the Greater Beirut area once the auction for the operation and maintenance of the remaining buses, which the Caretaker Public Works Minister announced to complete its terms book, ends.

This step came only a few days after completing the bus registration process, which was expected to be finished in May but was delayed due to strikes and successive crises in the Road Traffic Authority (RTA).

Furthermore, 95 buses are present in total, including 50 buses with high specifications provided by the French government.

In addition, 45 local buses were severely damaged by the Beirut Port blast, and CMA CGM handled their maintenance; 28 of these buses will soon begin operating in the Greater Beirut area, and the passenger fare within Beirut will only be 20,000 LBP.

The joint transportation plan is therefore beginning to take shape, albeit gradually. It is now necessary for all state departments to move quickly to finish their tasks to complete the auction mentioned above and engage the private sector to operate all buses.

However, the current question is, "would it take a long time for all buses to start operating, just as it took months to finish their registration process?"