GSP Belgrade announces tender for the procurement of 50 solo buses - Will it work this time or is it also doomed to fail?

For the fifth time since last year, GSP Belgrade has announced a tender for the procurement of new buses. This time, the number of vehicles is considerably lower than in the previous unsuccessful procedures: 50 solo low-floor buses powered by gas, which, as before, are to be acquired through a financial leasing arrangement.

According to the procurement documentation, the buses must be manufactured this year or next and are to be delivered in four batches (the first two consisting of 10 vehicles each, and the remaining two of 15 each). The first batch must be delivered no later than 200 days after the contract is signed, and the final batch within 290 days.

The vehicles are required to have three doors, at least 29 seats, a minimum capacity of 80 passengers, a manually operated ramp for persons with disabilities, and designated space inside the bus for wheelchair users.

The success of this tender is uncertain, even though it has only just been announced. Over the past year, the procurement of new vehicles for the needs of GSP Belgrade—primarily buses and trams—has not been unfolding in line with the plans set by the Belgrade authorities. In the previous period, the purchase of both solo and articulated buses was suspended, as was last year’s procurement of 100 short trams. More recently, the tender for the acquisition of 85 trams was also called off.

It is worth recalling that in January, the tender for the purchase of 150 buses (70 articulated and 80 solo) for GSP Belgrade failed because not a single bidder submitted an offer. The initial procurement for 300 buses (170 solo and 130 articulated), launched nearly a year ago, was first postponed several times. During the process, the technical specifications of the vehicles were amended, and the Republic Commission for the Protection of Rights in Public Procurement Procedures subsequently issued a decision identifying irregularities, leading to the suspension of the entire procedure.

Following the announcement of this new tender for 50 buses, several questions remain and will only be answered in the months ahead. The first is whether this fifth attempt at procurement will succeed at all. The second is what will happen to the city’s plan to allow only vehicles no older than 10 years to operate on the streets starting September 1, should this attempt also fail. Another open question is whether the Stari Dvor, if the bus purchase once again proves unsuccessful, will use this as an argument that GSP is incapable of securing new vehicles and that additional GSP routes should therefore be handed over to private operators.

JKP GSP Beograd

GSP Belgrade

procurement of buses for GSP Belgrade