Vitebskoblavtotrans" allocated almost Br23 billion for fleet renewal in 2009.

June 26, Vitebsk / Sergei Kochetov - BELTA /. The Republican Unitary Enterprise "Vitebskoblavtotrans" updated its public transport fleet by 6% in 2009, against an annual target of 10%, allocating almost Br23 billion for these purposes. This was reported to a BELTA correspondent by the deputy director of the enterprise, Sergei Zalessky. A total of 57 MAZ buses were purchased for Vitebsk, Orsha, Polotsk, and Novopolotsk using funds from the regional transport fee. Vitebsk transport workers placed a special emphasis on purchasing MAZ-107 large-capacity buses, of which 36 units were received. This allowed the annual target for updating this type of public transport to be met, emphasized Sergei Zalessky. The Vitebsk enterprise purchases buses of the same color, as according to the decision of the city executive committee, buses on city and suburban routes should be green, trolleybuses - white and blue, trams - red. When updating the fleet, increased attention is paid to creating a barrier-free environment for people with disabilities. In 2009, 20 new buses entered city routes, meeting all requirements for transporting wheelchair users and other physically impaired persons. The buses have a special place for a wheelchair user, a kneeling system, a folding ramp, an automatic voice announcer, and a scrolling display. Over the past two years, the fleet of low-floor public transport has been replenished with 80 buses, which operate on routes in all cities of the region. In doing so, the basic requirements for the informational design of passenger transport are observed, including increasing the route number and name, and duplicating audio information with visual means. By the end of the year, "Vitebskoblavtotrans" plans to purchase another 53 buses from domestic manufacturers, which will be used to service suburban routes, added Sergei Zalessky. -0-