STIB bus contract suspended by Council of State

The Council of State has suspended a bus order worth millions of euros placed by STIB with German manufacturer EvoBus, upholding complaint by Belgian company VDL Bus Roeselare, De Tijd reports. In late June, the Brussels public transport company had announced it had ordered 172 buses from EvoBus, preferring the Daimler subsidiary to other competitors. The successful bidder could count not only on a first order worth €50m, but also on further orders over the next five years. Belgian manufacturer VDL Bus Roeselare did not accept STIB’s decision and took the matter with the Council of State. The latter decided on Tuesday to suspend the execution of the contract, ruling that there was insufficient motivation in STIB’s decision to choose EvoBus. STIB can now either wait for the Council of State to look into the case in depth, or try to provide further details to the motivation for its choice.