Five municipal minibus routes will be suspended as of March 2. These are routes No.108, 129, 135, 178 and 175. The carriers argue their activity is not profitable.
Contacted by IPN, chairman of the Board of the Employers Association of Motor Transport Carriers Oleg Alexa said that about 150 units of transport ran on these routes earlier. Now the number of minibuses was reduced to 50. Respectively, the interval between routes increased and the number of passengers is much lower. “The situation at the Urban Bus Company is different. The buses set off either they have passengers or not as the difference for them is compensated by the City Hall. They can travel without passengers, but we cannot,” stated Oleg Alexa.
According to him, the municipality does not want to discuss with private carriers and this is not right. If there was at least an intention to discuss, three-four routes could be kept. “They tell us to invest in vehicles and will then discuss the fares. Then they tell us that the minibuses will be removed from Chisinau by the middle of next year. We hear contradictory things from the authorities, but we want clarity,” explained Oleg Alexa, noting the carries want to know exactly how many minibuses the municipality needs so that they can decide on investments.
The carriers consider the problem can be solved by two ways – the municipality either accepts the request to increase the minibus fare or keep the fare of 3 lei but provide subsidies to private carriers in the same conditions as those enjoyed by municipal transport enterprises. Later, Mayor General Ion Ceban reacted, saying the carriers should have new contracts for the provision of services with the municipality, should establish the vehicle-km cost, should create better conditions in public transport, should respect the contractual conditions, should accept electronic ticketing and the common electronic ticket. According to him, the Chisinau City Hall cannot accept to raise minibus fares until these conditions are not met. On February 27, the City Hall presented to the municipal councilors a draft decision concerning the purchase of 100 new buses that are expected to start to run on routes in the city this summer.
