Seyyed Mohsen Tabatabaei Mozdabadi
Budget shortfalls and fleet obsolescence; Clean Air Act enforcement at economic impasse
Tuesday, September 9, 2025 8:31 AM
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شماره خبر: -4321432
The Secretary General of the Iranian Urban Economics Scientific Association said: "The lack of funding and the wear and tear of the fleet have caused the implementation of the Clean Air Law to face delays and capacity deficits, and its goals have not been achieved."
Lack of budget and fleet exhaustion; Implementation of the Clean Air Law in an economic impasse
Seyed Mohsen Tabatabaei Mozdabadi, Secretary General of the Iranian Urban Economics Scientific Association, in an interview with Mehr, referring to the requirements for transportation development and the Clean Air Law, stated: According to the Clean Air Law approved in 2017, transportation development must be carried out in a way that both increases public transportation capacity and reduces pollution.
He added: The general framework set by the law includes increasing the share of public transportation, including buses, metros, and minibuses, in urban travel, reducing the use of private cars by creating efficient, fast, and cheap options, and reducing fleet emissions to the level of environmental standards.
The Secretary General of the Iranian Urban Economics Scientific Association said: Replacing the worn-out fleet with new, clean fleets such as electric, hybrid, and gas-powered vehicles is also a requirement.
He emphasized: According to Articles 8, 9 and 10 of the Clean Air Law, the government, through the Ministry of Interior and municipalities, is obliged to renew or increase part of the fleet every year so that within a specified period, the entire fleet of urban buses and minibuses reaches the designed capacity level and worn-out vehicles are replaced.
Tabatabaei Mazdabadi added: The Environmental Protection Organization monitors compliance with emission standards, and the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade and the Ministry of Energy must provide the basis for the production and use of low-emission and electric vehicles. The Planning and Budget Organization is also obliged to provide and allocate the necessary funds, and exemptions and facilities such as low-interest loans and customs exemptions have been foreseen for the development of the fleet.
Regarding the measures expected from the law, he said: Increasing the number of buses to reach the capacity standard, developing rapid transit (BRT) lines and connecting them to the metro and terminals, electrifying and gasifying the fleet, overhauling and rebuilding the relatively new fleet, and managing travel demand are among the measures that need to be taken. An integrated ticket network to facilitate combined travel with multiple modes of transportation is also of particular importance.
Regarding the implementation status in 1404, the Secretary General of the Iranian Urban Economics Scientific Association stated: The implementation of the law has been accompanied by delays and capacity deficits. The fleet still has about 600 buses less than the law's target, and the electric and low-emission sector is still in the experimental stage. Modernization is also progressing slowly due to budget and domestic production problems.
He said: The reasons that have caused the development of urban transportation, especially bus transportation, not to progress as expected despite the Clean Air Law include financial and resource problems, administrative and administrative challenges, and technological and structural obstacles.
Tabatabaei Mozdabadi added: Insufficient budget, dependence on foreign exchange resources and lack of support from the banking network have limited resources. In addition, the multiplicity of responsible institutions, the long process of contracting and maintenance and repair problems have slowed down the implementation of the law.
He continued: Limited domestic production capacity, dependence on imports of electric and hybrid technology and wear and tear of terminals and infrastructure are other obstacles. In addition, inflation, increased operating costs, driver shortage and changing political or managerial priorities have also had a negative effect.
Referring to the severe congestion in the early morning and after-work hours, the Secretary General of the Iranian Urban Economics Scientific Association said: This phenomenon is more severe in Tehran due to structural and managerial reasons. The concentration of the time of the beginning and end of activities, insufficient public transportation capacity, geographical concentration of jobs and services, passenger behavior and preferences and weak integration of systems are the main factors of congestion.
He said: “In the short term, it is necessary to increase the fleet during peak hours, reduce the dispatch interval, use larger buses, strengthen BRT lines, and manage queues and boarding at stations. In the medium term, it is necessary to integrate systems, increase fleet capacity in accordance with the Clean Air Act, improve the route network, and invest in articulated and electric express buses.
The Secretary General of the Iranian Urban Economics Scientific Association continued: “In the long term, implementing floating working and training hours to distribute travel flows, urban decentralization, and developing multimodal terminals with quick access to the center will be key measures. In short, without combining demand management measures and a real increase in public transportation capacity, no measure alone will be able to sustainably solve the congestion problem.”
Tabatabaei Mozdabadi concluded by emphasizing: “To reduce congestion during peak hours and on congested routes, urban management must employ a combination of immediate, structural, and policy-making solutions, which include three main axes: demand management, increasing capacity, and improving existing efficiency.”
