The drivers working on the minibus routes that were annulled by order of the mayor of Chisinau collected €300 to €500 at the suggestion of an administrator so as to be able to resume work. A sum of over 13 million lei was collected overall, said activist Fiodor Ghelici, who heads the public association “Moldova Mea”.
In a news conference at IPN, the activist said he found out about the collection of money from drivers. “They asked for €300 to €500 per every minibus involved in traffic. I asked why so. They did calculations. For example, the minibuses that run to Codru commune are not very profitable and they were told to pay by €300. Those that run on the main arteries of Chisinau and have high incomes had to pay by €400, while the most profitable routes from the center of Chisinau paid by €500 per minibus. They calculated everything accurately, as in the drugstore,” said Fiodor Ghelici.
According to him, the money was to reach high-ranking officials of the Chisinau City Hall so that the annulled minibus routes were restored on September 1. It happened so. Nobody knows where this money went, but the problem of minibus routes remained unsolved.
Fiodor Ghelici also said that in order to restore the annulled minibus routes, about 1,500 drivers collected by up to 500 signatures each in minibus and bus stations and submitted them to the Chisinau City Hall and to court.
The head of “Moldova Mea” said he is ready to cooperate with the National Anticorruption Center and the Prosecutor General’s Office in identifying those involved in the collection of money from drivers and minibus administrators. The problem of public transport in Chisinau will not be solved if there is no political will on the part of the local authorities, which earn dividends from the illegal work of minibuses transporting passengers.
