The first 40 newly-built buses will arrive in Malta and will be in service as from July, ahead of the original delivery date, Malta Public Transport said. The other 102 buses will arrive in batches throughout summer.

In a statement, the company said these buses are being built by Otokar, a company established in 2011 for European bus market and has been the leader of Turkish bus market for the fifth consecutive year. Presently, technical people from Malta Public Transport and ALESA are in Turkey inspecting and checking the buses to guarantee that they are according to the specifications and provisions agreed upon.

This is the sixth time that technical people have been inspecting the productionprocess which is typical for the group when purchasing a new fleet of buses. During the past few days, the Chairman of Malta Public Transport and Director of ALESA, Mr Felipe Cosmen was also in Turkey to visit the manufacturing plant and review the new buses.

The new buses are 9.6 metres long and slightly narrower thanthe majority of the existing fleet. The new length will improve the flexibility for the operation as the buses will be able to manoeuvre better on certain routes. These buses are low floor, providing easy access for wheelchair and pushchairs.

They have two doors, intended to allow people to board and alight from the buses efficiently therefore reducing boarding time. The buses have a capacity of 60 passengers, equipped with a EURO 6 engine and fitted with a six-cylinder Cummins engine which is the very latest standards for environmentally friendly public transport.