Gas-powered MAZ bus triumphant in Russian Kazan

Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ trademark) in association with the regional dealer MAZtsentrKazan staged a ten-day trial performance of the bus MAZ 203965 in the Russian city of Kazan. The bus is powered by compressed gas fuel, the press service of the Belarusian Industry Ministry told BelTA.

According to the source, representatives of transport companies and passengers were quite happy about the Belarusian bus. The source was confident that in the future more gas-powered MAZ buses may be delivered to the capital city of Tatarstan in the near future.

The bus MAZ 203965 has 24 seats and one seat for people with disabilities. Fully loaded, the bus can carry up to 90 people. The bus has been fitted with a ramp to allow wheelchair access. The floor is low for the convenience of elderly people and parents with little kids. The bus can be operated in air temperatures varying from minus 40C to plus 40C. In anticipation of hot weather the bus has been fitted with a massive air conditioner to keep the air cool throughout the bus.

The gas-powered MAZ bus was sent to Kazan for a reason since the Republic of Tatarstan, Russian Federation intends to switch half of the vehicles, including mass transit ones, to natural gas within the next ten years. For now the city administration and passenger transport operators of Kazan are choosing manufacturers and present them with requirements, said the press service of the Belarusian Industry Ministry.

Minsk Automobile Plant was founded in 1944. In 2009 it was reincorporated into the public joint-stock company OAO MAZ. In 2012 OAO MAZ became the management company of the holding company BelavtoMAZ. The holding company comprises ten enterprises that employ about 30,000 people. The holding company makes truck tractors, high-sided trucks, medium-capacity automobiles, dump trucks, log trucks, short log trucks, cross-country vehicles, chassis fit for special equipment along with buses and trolleybuses. MAZ offers over 500 models and modifications of trucks and about 20 models of passenger vehicles.