Eighty-five buses manufactured by Chinese bus maker Yutong have arrived here and are being put into operation, the municipal government of the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar said Friday.

The first 35 Yutong buses were delivered to Mongolia from China in late December, and were part of the country’s efforts to reform its public transport.

Mongolia has planned to buy a total of 600 Yutong buses, and all remaining buses will be transported to Mongolia by February.

Buses are the most popular means of public transport in Ulaanbaatar.

There are now more than 980 buses used for public transport in the capital, but around 60 percent of them are outdated.

Authorities hope the new buses will reduce congestion by encouraging more people to use public transportation.

For many years, traffic congestion has been a major pressing issue in Ulaanbaatar. The city, which was originally built to accommodate 500,000 residents, is now home to around 1.6 million people, half of the country’s population.