Iran

Euro 3 alive and well, Iran 2017.

'Why?' is the first question asked when you tell people your holiday destination. The answer is simple: to the younger generations it is Iran and the various images it conjures up, but to an oldie like me it is Persia, with millenniums of history and tales of Arabian nights. 

 
Tehran BRT. A King Long XMQ610001, on Azadi Street heading towards the city centre, operating BRT Line 1 on the segregated bus lane. Note, to the rear of the bus, a traffic police officer guarding the entrance to the bus lane.
 


'Caution traffic merging from the left', is the first road sign you see when emerging from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran, and yes it is in English, as is much of the road signage in Iran, but driving is far from English in style. At first glance you might think Iranians are poor drivers but if you watch closely they are skilled: slotting into the smallest gap, never using mirrors, indicators or brakes, making sudden three point turns at will and having a total disregard for lane discipline. They do however admit to having a total disregard for pedestrians.  Once you take all this on board, a journey by public transport seems less daunting especially as flights from the UK arrive in the middle of the morning rush hour. Travelling the 50km into the city centre is a quick cure for any overnight grogginess. 

 
Photographed on Keshavarz Boulevard, Tehran, Oghab-Scania 3112 City Bus, fitted with Scania DC09 115 engine, ZF gearbox, 12m Oghab body B45F + 28 standing. Since 2000, Oghab/Scania (Oghab Afshan Industrial and Manufacturing Co.), with a manufacturing base in Semnan, has produced more than 2600 coaches and 1000 buses.


Tehran, the capital of Iran, has 8.5 million residents within the city and over 15 millions in the environs. The city has an extensive local bus network and bus rapid transport (BRT) system, both soon encountered on the journey from the airport with the BRT vehicles at this point using the normal road network and sitting in the traffic congestion. The segregated BRT lane appears in the middle of the dual-carriageway once you enter the central districts, with entry and exit points controlled by traffic police on point duty.

Public transport in the capital generally operates from 6am and finishes between 10 and 11pm. United Bus Company of Tehran has been in existence for over 55 years with a workforce of 8,500 and manages about 6320 city buses, 4398 of these are operated by 16 private sector companies, plus an additional 1078 mini buses.  In all, there are 230 bus lines, covering 2718 km and carrying  approximately 4,500,000 passengers per working day. The majority of buses on normal services are dual-door Mercedes Benz 0457 (Iran Khodro Diesel) or Renault (Shahab Khodro). The cost of a single ticket is less than 10p and must be pre-purchased from ticket booths located close to bus stops or in bus stations, although most locals use preloaded 'tap-out' travel cards. At this point it is worth mentioning passenger etiquette on local services: women use the centre door to board and sit to the rear of the bus, whilst men board at the front and sit on the seats between the front and centre doors. When alighting, the women use the centre door whilst the men tend to use either door, and both sexes then make their way to the front door to either use the 'tap-out' machine attached to the step grab handle or hand a ticket over to the driver. If you do not have a smart card, you can offer cash to the driver who is not permitted to accept it so will often let you board without paying, because offering to pay shows your sincerity! When alighting, generally pushing the bell is unnecessary as drivers have to stop. However, if no one is waiting at the bus stop, the driver might call out to see if someone wants to get off, and if no one replies, the driver usually keeps going. Despite what might look like a hap-hazard system, dwell time at stops is low.

Yutong ZK6128HGE (also displaying Iran Khodro Diesel IKD CO supplier's lettering). Operating on route 71, departing the bus stop outside Zinat Almolk House on Lotf Ali Kahn Zand Street.

The first BRT line was introduced into Tehran in 2007,and today there are ten lines denoted by colour with a single journey using a smart card costing about 5000 Rials (12p). Within the first year, passenger numbers increased by 77 per cent, up from 214,000 to 380,000 daily on the 18km Line 1. Presently the ten BRT lines cover 171.8 km in length and operate 1345 12m rigid and 15m artic buses carrying close to 2,000,000 passengers per day. Bus stops, known as 'Stations', are between 36–44 metres long with a protective cover against sun heat, wind etc and are fully wheel chair accessible. The BRT is a safe, fast and efficient way to get around Tehran, however, using the BRT is not recommended in rush hour. The buses operating the system are showing their age, a result of ongoing international sanctions that has resulted in limited imports. King Long and Yutong artics are much in evidence. The first batch of King Long XMQ6180G 18 meter BRT vehicles were delivered in 2008. The batch was specially adapted for local needs with entry facilities for wheelchairs and a partition dividing the interior into male and female sections.

On leaving Tehran, like most people, we headed to the far south of the country before working back north to the capital. Shiraz is 930km from Tehran and the journey can be made by plane, train or express coach. There are 20,000 intercity buses in Iran and approximately 30 coach operating companies, such as Seirosafar, Ham Safar, and Iran Peyma. Most companies offer several daily departures on popular routes aboard standard and VIP-class coaches. Coaches usually stick to their timetable but 15-minute delays do occur, usually deliberate to allow for late passengers. Up-to-date timetables can be found on each company’s website, however, the websites are not in English so it helps if you know someone who speaks Farsi. Fares are low, for example, travelling on a VIP bus from Tehran to Shiraz, taking up to 13 hours, costs approximately £14, with hourly departures between 11am and 10pm. A focal point for buses in the city centre is the roads around the Arg-Karim Khan fortress with many of the now familiar Mercedes Benz (Iran Khodro Diesel) types laying-over. More modern Yutong ZK6108HG are in evidence. In June 2017 Shiraz became the first city in Iran to test the BYD K9 all-electric demonstrator, using large-capacity lithium-iron-phosphate batteries, that, when fully charged, provide sufficient energy for over 150 kms of urban service. This vehicle is currently touring other major cities in Iran as part of an initiative to improve air quality that started in 2015, when the Tehran public transport fleet took its first hybrid CNG buses.

Departing Shahrdaari Bus Station, no more than a roadside pull-in on Shohada Square (a roundabout), next to  the Arg-Karim Khan fortress, Iran Khodro Diesel Mercedes Benz 0457. Iran Khodro Diesel Company was established as Khawar Industrial Group in 1966. In 1999 it merged with Iran Khodro Company to become Iran Khodro Diesel.

One of the main reasons for visiting Shiraz is to take an excursion to Persepolis, the magnificent Unesco World Heritage Site just a few kilometres away. The site is also home to one of the largest coach parks you are ever likely to see, capable of holding hundreds of vehicles on a single level, windswept, dusty plain. This site provided the opportunity to take a straw-poll of Iranian coach operators’ vehicle preferences. Without doubt the winner, by a big margin, is the Scania chassis/engine, Oghab body combination. Oghab (Oghab Afshan Industrial and Manufacturing Company) has manufactured more than 2600 coaches and 1000 city buses in Iran since 2000. The other popular combination is one which is very familiar, the Volvo B12B 9700, whilst the remainder are a motley collection of familiar European brands, MAN & Neoplan, VDL, Mercedes Benz. The Chinese share of the market is confined to the smaller 9m (35 seater) models, again familiar to operations in many parts of the world.

The 463km journey north through desert, mountainous landscape and Pasargadae, home to a Mercedes Benz 0457 converted into a builder’s store, brought us to Yazd, a city which sat on the silk road route and now has a population of 432,000. The first sighting of public transport in Yazd occurs just after leaving the motorway,and the Atlasi bus and coach station is a small two platform interchange located on a roundabout. Continue down Timsar Fallahi, a long straight avenue, towards the city centre and you come to the much larger Abouzar bus and coach station which is situated on Abouzar Square, and is in fact a very busy roundabout with an abundance of buses. This city has a more diverse fleet, both in colour and vehicle type. There are still large numbers of older Mercedes Benz but interspersed with more modern Renault Eurobuses and Pishro Yadak City Buses. 

The most common coach combination in Iran, Oghab (Oghab Afshan Industrial and Manufacturing Company) 4212 Maral body on Scania K Series. The coach is parked in Salman-e-Farsi with some of Yazd's famous wind-towers behind. These were the original home air conditioning system. 

The journey continues another 324km north to the city of Esfahan, once the capital of Persia, and now the second largest city in Iran with a population of just over two million. Entering the city from the east and travelling parallel with Zayandeh Rood (life giving river) along Salman Farsi Street you cross the intersection with the north/south BRT line at Bozorgmehr Bridge. The line runs north to the Bagh Qoushkhaneh Bus Terminal and south along the Zobahan Freeway. Currently a single 17km system, opened in 2013, operated by Esfahan and Suburbs Bus Company, using red liveried King Long XMQ6180G1 artics and 100 locally built Asia PishroDiesel (formally Pishro Yadak) 12m rigid city buses. The remainder of Esfahan is served by an extensive conventional buses network of 105 routes, utilising a number of small bus stations and roadside interchanges dotted around the city. Yet again the bus fleet consist of Mercedes Benz 0457, Renault Eurobuses, Pishro Yadak and more modern Oghab Scania-3112  vehicles, and a mysterious white three axial rigid that kept disappearing into the distance on Hakim Nezami Street which might be a tri-axle Oghab/Scania Arrian.

The final 450km across the desert on a well maintained motorway takes us via Kashan, a small, very conservative city renowned for its merchant houses and gardens. Arrival at midday coincided with the schools changing shifts, and as both the schools and school transport are segregated, resulting in an abundance of Iranian built Mercedes Benz 0309, Khodro Diesel school buses. The small local bus service is operated by blue Renault Eurobuses. The final part of the journey back to Tehran takes you close to two of Iran's nuclear establishments, the only time politics came into play and when cameras had to be hidden away.

Juggling for position in the evening rush hour, a selection of buses at the municipal bus station at the top of Bagh-e-Goldaste Street, Esfahan.

Owners and drivers are very proud of their Euro 3 credentials, often displaying the fact in bold lettering on the vehicles. Iran's bus manufacturers are making concerted efforts to convert existing vehicles to CNG, develop Euro 6 and hybrid models, often in collaboration with European manufacturers. With the lifting of international sanctions, it can only be a matter of time before all these Euro 3 models disappear and become as scare as Leyland double-deckers in Iran. 

Heading away from the city centre along Amir Kabir Street in Kashan, a Renault Eurobus from the local municipal operator.

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Peru 2018

Strike, Rattle and Ride ~ Peru 2018.

When it comes to early morning wake-up calls, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.7 at 6.07am is certainly an encouragement to get out of bed and thus began our first morning in Peru. On the plus side was the opportunity to watch rush-hour buses in Lima as life continued as normal. As with most modern cities, Lima suffers from chronic traffic congestion despite a high frequency bus network and modern BRT line. There are 15,396 buses registered in Lima by numerous independent operators, typically using smaller van/truck derived chassis and the larger of these have locally built bodies. The local authority, Municipalidad de Lima, oversees the Sistema Integrado de Transporte on routes in the 200/300s and the Metropolitano BRT with its four lines.

Stretching from Matellini in the south to Naranjal in the north the 'Metropolitano' is the most convenient for tourists as line C connects the tourist district of Miraflores and the old city, whilst lines A and B require one change. The full system is 21 miles in length and has 38 stations. Stations have network maps at the entrance as not all routes go the full distance or call at all stations. One inconvenience for visitors is the need to acquire a pre-purchase smartcard and load it with cash. The local advice was to stand at the entrance barrier with 2.50 new soles, the cost of a single fare, and ask a local to 'tap' you through in exchange for the cash, and it worked. The terminal at Naranjal provides the best location for observing all varieties of operators and vehicle types. The district of Miraflores has four Metropolitano stations with Ricardo Palma providing the least hazardous connection to local buses which congregate around the Ovalo and Central Park and only requires crossing one major road. The disadvantage with this location from an enthusiast’s perspective is the lack of American style school buses which are still prevalent on local service in the centre of Lima.

Lima has attempted to integrate the various independent long distance bus operators in the Grand Terminal, at Plaza Norte close to Metropolitano station Tomds Valle, but several still insist in managing their own departure points, such as Cruz del Sur on Avenue Javier Prado which is the departure point for the seventeen hour 629 mile trip along the Pacific coast to Arequipa. Arequipa is a tourist mecca with the historic centre built in a grid system of narrow one-way streets on one bank of the Rio Chilli, whilst the modern sprawling suburbs sit on the other bank and extend for miles along the highway thanks to the wealth generated by mining. The majority of bus routes from both areas pass through the Puente Grau bus station, with small van derived vehicles covering the narrow old streets and the occasional conventional bus crossing the bridge from the modern side. The bus station consist of two rows of stops on two levels and is heavily congested with dwell time rigorously enforced by transport inspectors. The occasional full size tourist coach penetrates the old city but the only large buses to do so are the unwieldy looking Ashok Leyland/Marcopolo double-deckers on sightseeing duties.

The next two days of our tour were aboard a Mercedes Benz with Irizar i6 body on an excursion from Arequipa (7550ft above sea level) to the Colca Canyon and Condors' Cross via Mirador De Los Volcanes (16,000ft above sea level) and a descent of 14 hairpin bends and numerous twists with a journey time of 4 hours to the town of Chivay (12,000ft above sea level). Whilst the Mercedes handled the altitude without any problems, older express buses on the route struggled: radiator grills lifted, engine covers propped open and a thick black trail of exhaust fumes left in their wake.

Continuing on to Puno, gateway to Lake Titicaca, the majority of express buses tended to be three-axel single deckers with Scania chassis and Marcopolo bodies. The route passes through Juliac, the provincial capital and transport hub, which is currently without a completed road bypass and its narrow streets are congested with van derived minibuses and Moto Taxis (tuk tuks). The road into Puno is steep with the main residential area sitting on the slopes above the bay whilst the main commercial and university areas sit along the lake shore. The local bus network is dominated by van derived minibuses plying their trade around the bay and the extent of the network is defined by two large tourist hotels on opposite headlands. 

                   

From Puno we cheated and made the journey to Cusco by overnight train. This was fortuitous as it turned out because a planned day of national strikes meant that the road system in and out of Cusco was severely disrupted. Our planned train arrival time was brought forward by one-and-a-half-hours to circumvent any potential problems which the train company feared may include level crossings being blocked by protestors. The view of the express coach station from the train showed a large number of coaches standing idle as were the local city buses. By mid-morning, tourist coaches were either trapped in the city or unable to enter because main roads were blocked by rubble and oil drums, and the police increased their weapons from side-arms and riot shields to additional rifles and teargas launchers - a situation which lasted until 4pm. Eventually the all clear was given and we boarded our small VW badged MAN 'truck with Modasa (Motores Diesel Andinos S.A.) Apolo body and left the valley in a convoy of vehicles, driving through a slalom of rubble, oil drums etc. As we crested the hill there was a long convoy of express coaches waiting to enter the city. It soon became apparent that small truck derived coaches do not make comfortable express vehicles on steep winding roads and we arrived in the Sacred Valley amidst plumes of smoke coming from the brake pads. No such problems for German tourists staying in the hotel as their smart German registered Neoplan Cityliner, belonging to Worldwide Gruppenreisen of Dachau, Munich, sat proudly in the car park. According to the driver, German clientele demand luxury so the coach is shipped to South America for a year and makes regular journeys from Santiago, Chile through Boliva and across Peru, under the Andino Tours branding.

 

If you want to continue further along the Scared Valley the only options available are walking or train. When the train from Sacred Valley arrives at the town of  Aguas Calientes (gateway to Machu Picchu), Mercedes Benz Lo915's with Marcopolo or Volare W9 bodies transfer you to the citadel entrance. This is via a dirt road with a climb of 390 metres and thirteen hairpin bends, passing on route the depot for the operator Consettur Machupicchu S.A.C.

What a difference three days can make! Returning to Cusco from Machu Picchu, the city was alive with a fully functioning  bus service and vibrant coach station. The narrow one way streets are plied by small van and truck derived buses with individual operators such as Batman, Servicio Andino, Satelite and El Dorado with the route displayed along the side of the bodywork. Most routes run through the old city to modern sprawling suburbs on either side with mini interchange points such as City Park Limacpampa and Calle Concebidayoc doted around. The coach interchange is located ten blocks from the centre at Terminal Terrestre (Earth Terminal), a functional single story concrete building containing all the operators' individual  booking  kiosks and passenger seating area. Externally there are fifteen boarding bays and a vast parking area for coaches on layover. Micaela Bastidas which overlooks the interchange and runs parallel to the railway line is used by many operators as a parking area and houses a roadside depot for Transportes Power. For the final leg of the trip back to Lima, there were two route options. The first, generally considered the safest but longest, was to return via Arequipa, but that entailed travelling over many miles of previously travelled roads. So option two, a direct and spectacular route over the Andes covering 680 miles in 22 hours, was chosen. 

With dramatic scenery and interesting history Peru is well worth a visit, although with questionable driving and problems breathing at high altitude, it is literarily not a country for the faint hearted.   

                 

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