Regional deputies met to discuss the problems and developmental prospects of transport infrastructure in Sverdlovsk Region at the request of Sverdlovsk Region Duma Committee for Industrial, Agricultural, and Environmental Management Policies.

One of the reports was presented by Director of GAZ United Engineering Center Enrico Damiano, who spoke about the performance of GAZ, Russia’s largest producer of commercial transport whose share of the market comes to 70% or 75%. Mr. Damiano said GAZ-made buses fit for 8 and 13 people had been produced since 1996, with some changes introduced to the model in 1998.

According to Mr. Damiano, there are more than 100 different documents on bus safety regulations in Russia, and their buses comply with them all. Since July 2004, all the vehicles have got an anti-blocking system and a high body; their engines meet Euro 2 and Euro 3 requirements. There are more than 1,000,000 GAZ-made buses on Russian roads today. Their accident rate is not higher than that of the same class cars, and most crashes are caused by human behavior, not the faulty vehicles.

‘I can guarantee that these buses meet all the safety requirements. Statistically, airplanes are the safest and our buses the second safest means of transportation,’ Mr. Damiano said.