Polski Express set to launch new bid to operate bus services in Warsaw

Long-distance bus carrier Polski Express (PE) plans a bid for providing bus services in Warsaw. According to PE president Andrzej Wasiak, the cost of new buses alone for the planned services will exceed zl.30 million. "A modern easy-access bus with a capacity of around a hundred passengers costs up to zl.600,000," Wasiak explained. According to unofficial sources, the tender for the provision of city bus services by private contractors will be carried out in two stages, with a bidder expected to offer 50 buses at each stage. Therefore, the company finally selected will have to provide as many as 100 buses. Rumors are circulating that apart from Polski Express, other companies planning to take part in the tender include Rapid Bus, PKS Grodzisk, and Dolnoslaskie Linie Autobusowe Wroclaw. Polski Express has been unsuccessful in earlier tenders organised by Zarzad Transportu Miejskiego (ZTM), the authorities responsible for public transport in Warsaw. "We offer modern, easy-access buses which meet ecological requirements. However, so far our offers have not won the approval of ZTM," says Wasiak. (Puls Biznesu, p. 10) A.Z.