Ruslan Codreanu, head of the group of the Electoral Bloc “European People’s Platform of Moldova – Iurie Leanca” on the Chisinau Municipal Council (CMC), said the opposition to the implementation of the electronic taxation system in public transport in Chisinau is so great because each leu paid by the passengers will be strictly monitored through this system. Therefore, the thieves want to increase fares so as to be able to steal more.

“It is hard to say that what we have now is municipal public transport. Before discussing the rise in fares, the City Hall should report how the public money collected by the Chisinau Electric Transport Company and the Urban Bus Company is spent. A study conducted in 2012 shows that thousands of tickets are not reported daily. So, tens of thousands of lei daily reach someone else’s pockets. In 2016, at our suggestion, the CMC approved the decision to perform an audit at the mentioned companies. And what? Nobody bothered to implement this decision and no audit was carried out,” the councilor was quoted by IPN as saying.

Unaffiliated councilor Ion Stefanita noted that if the fares in public transport are increased, the fares should be paid through an electronic taxation system, not through conductors. “I want to see a financial flow that goes directly to the company’s accounting records and is well monitored. The increase in fares implies greater comfort. I refer to buses and trolleybuses,” the councilor stated for IPN.

In 2010, the Chisinau City Hall announced that the inhabitants of Chisinau, in 2012 at the latest, will pay for trips by an electronic card and will not have to purchase tickets from conductors. In 2015, the Chisinau City Hall said the project to implement the electronic taxation system reached the final stage and a company to develop this system in the municipal public transport was to be chosen. However, this system hasn’t been yet introduced.