Apart from our company, there were seven other businesses participating in the tender. In the competition, Umbrella offered the best price per kilometre travelled - the sum of 44.56 Czech korunas is 15 percent lower than the price for which the current carrier runs the public transport services. “We offered Jablonec the standards we have in Germany. We also planned to provide the latest buses but due to the fact that the announced term of the public contract is only for two years, we would not be able to do so,” the owner of Umbrella Pavel Steiner commented on the decision of the city representatives.

Even so, the quality of the buses to be operated in Jablonec is much higher than is customary in the Czech Republic. These will be low-floor Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses manufactured in 2013 and 2015, with a capacity of up to 96 seats. Passengers will have air-conditioning and free Wi-Fi available to them in the buses. The timetables and stops will remain unchanged in Jablonec. Everything will be kept as passengers are used to.

Umbrella Coach & Buses will thus replace the controversial BusLine company in Jablonec and expand the number of the cities where it participates in public transport. So far, Umbrella city buses have been operating in the German cities of Hamburg and Karlsruhe. The company has already secured drivers for the new services. The first buses with the Umbrella logo will drive out to serve Jablonec on 1 February 2021. And it is quite possible that they will stay there even after the two years. In case the city announces a tender for the following 10 years, Umbrella would like to apply for this contract - this time with new buses equipped with hybrid engines.