Mayor of Chisinau Ion Ceban said the rise in minibus fares cannot be yet broached as the quality of services provided by maxi-taxis is very low. A higher fare could be accepted only if a higher level of comfort is ensured, IPN reports.

The mayor said the minibus fare hasn’t been raised during the last few years, but no investments have been made in the period to modernize this type of transport to ensure the people’s comfort. “The public transport will be a priority for us. I refer here to trolleybuses and buses. We will invest a lot here. We are having negotiations and will solve this situation in the immediate future. As regards the maxi-taxi routes, there is complete disorder here as some of the routes were taken over and there are many operators on them. There are subleased, extended, annulled routes,” Ion Ceban stated in a program on N4 channel.

The mayor noted the rise in fares will be examined when comfort conditions are created for the citizens of the municipality of Chisinau. “These motor vehicles should be of a high quality, not refitted and reequipped as at present. I want these vehicles to be comfortable. If we return to the issue of adjustment of fares, it should be conditional upon these circumstances,” he went on to say.

According to Ion Ceban., the minibuses must serve the people where the trolleybuses or busses cannot get. “The timetable is also a big problem, as the quality of transport is. If we want to reach the suburban settlements, we cannot find a unit of transport going there after 9pm. They pack the vehicles when it is suitable for them, when the people go to work and return home, and then do what they want. This is not correct. When I say complexity, I mean a new public transport scheme,” he stated.

A number of 682 minibuses are now running on routes in the municipality of Chisinau.